


A Different Ascension

by Androzani84



Category: Sailor Moon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-12-07 08:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 31,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11620092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Androzani84/pseuds/Androzani84
Summary: The events of Sailor Moon play out, but not as you remember them.





	1. Day of the Destined

_Long ago, when the pyramids were still young, a great kingdom flourished on a planetoids that drifted into our orbit. The other worlds of the Solar System were part of the planetoid's extended empire, known as the Silver Milennium. But as our world stood ready to join, a dark force emerged from another dimension and destroyed the civilisations of the other planets, before it was sealed away. Now, 2000 years later, new warriors have come to life, reborn from the defenders of the planetoids they only knew as the moon. Little do they know, they will soon be called upon to prevent the Dark force's return. And this is where our story begins._

_**Two Years** _ **Ago** _  
_

_A pair of explorers had journeyed far from the port of Liverpool where they had set off from. They had ventured into undiscovered territory._

_"Good thing we discovered this East Pole.", one of them said to the other. "Cameron's going to need the extra money."_

_"Yeah, especially with all this talk of leaving the EU.", his compatriot replied. "If you ask me, it'll never amount to anything." But before he could explain, the two of them fell into a hollow portion of the ice. Inside, they found a large seal on the front of a gate._

_"What's this then?", said the first man. "Some undiscovered civilisation, mayhaps?"_

_"There's only one way to find out." With this, the other man swung his pick onto the seal, shattering it._

_But then everything went wrong. The gates flew open and waves of black light flew out. Several figures rose from the ground, four of them looking remotely human. The two turned to run for safety. They were never seen again._


	2. Tough Girl Rei's Amazing Transformation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years after the evil was awoken, a new warrior has risen to fight them. But soon, she will not be alone. Others are coming.

Rei Hino had woken up on another seemingly regular day in Tokyo. She had done her chores for the morning and set off for her school. Despite being a keen practitioner of the Shinto religion, her grandfather had no choice but to send her to a Catholic school, some of the little sway her father still held over her life. Now she had to be there by the allowed time, or Sister Angela would "instill discipline" into her. But on the way, she saw some preschoolers terrorising a poor cat.

"Hey, stop that!", Rei yelled at them. This obviously worked, as they were quick to run away. She then went over to the cat. "Were those kids bothering you? Did they put this bandage on you?", she said, noticing that the cat seemed to react in pain to it. Pulling it off revealed nothing but a small tattoo, shaped like a crescent. Rei didn't have time to think on it, or she'd be late. But the cat had the time to take it all in. When it was certain that no-one could see, it said to itself "Could this girl be one of the chosen.?"

Later that day, Rei was walking through the shopping chentre, along with some friends from school. They had come to look at the jewellery shop's sudden decision to hold a sale. While Rei merely wanted to know why, her friends soon darted off to take advantage of the owner's generosity. Luckily, the woman wasn't inaccessible.

"Is there any reason you decided to hold a sale now?", Rei asked the owner.

"Oh no real reason, honey.", replied the woman. "I just wanted to do something good for the community. That's why all the proceeds from this are going to charity."

"Yeah right.", Rei said skeptic. "More like your purse." Rei didn't believe that anyone was really that generous. With that last retort she left just as a blonde and a brunette walked in. On the way out, she bumped into an older woman, one with blue hair.

"I'm sorry," the woman said "I didn't see you there."

"It's ok." Rei replied. "I was in a huff. I think there's something wrong about this whole sale thing."

"You know what?", the other woman said, smiling. "I think you're right." At this, Rei left, assuming the other woman was patronising her. But she didn't know that this woman could read people's emotions and sensed evil from within the building. And neither of them knew that the owner had been replaced with one of the Dark force's servants, who was now receiving orders from it's superior.

"Morga. There is an outsider aware of our operation. You must hunt down and destroy her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, there'll be more action next time.


	3. Misleading Chapter Titles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What I promised last time actually happens

Rei had just come out of the shower. She had done her homework and chores for the day, and now intended to go to bed. But as she bid her grandfather a good night, she went into the room, to find there was a cat sitting on the open windowsill. In fact, it was the same cat as this morning.

"What do you want?", Rei demanded "Have you been following me?"

"As a matter of fact, I have.", the cat replied casually. "My name is Luna and I've been looking for you."

Rei was taken aback. "A talking cat. What is this? Some kind of joke?"

The cat named Luna replied calmly "This is no joke. I am a being from the planet Mau, long since destroyed. I believe that you are destined to protect the world from the evil that threatens to destroy it as well."

"Evil? You mean like Dr. Evil?"

"This is serious. I believe you are Sailor Mars, the Senshi of Fire."

"You mean like Saior V?", said Rei, making the connection with one of her idols. "So how do I get this power?"

Luna did a twirl and summoned a pen shaped object. "With this." She saw the girl was a bit too excited. "But first, I need to lay down some ground rules. First, never reveal your identity to anyone, unless forced to. Second, never escalate a conflict, again, unless forced to. Finally, never use your powers for personal gain." But before anything else could happen, a creature burst through the wall, lunging at the girl.

Rei was suddenly serious. "Alright, it's time to do this." She paused, thinking what to say. And then it came to her, as if she'd said it before. "Mars Power, Make Up!" In an instant, she was transformed into her new alter ego. 

"I am Sailor Mars, and I shall punish you in the name of Mars!" Then she stopped to think that the wording she had just used was very redundant. She would have to change that in the future. But now, she was under attack from a monster that had every intention of killing her.

Suddenly, another voice called out. "Deep Submerge!" A torrent of water came from nowhere and hit the monster, knocking it back. Mars barely had time register the second figure that jumped away. Then she turned her mind back to the thing. That blast had weakened it so it could be destroyed by another hit. She could sense that much from looking at it. Thus, she called upon her attack for the the first time. It was like second nature.

"Mars Fire Surround!" The monster screamed in terror before it disappeared in the flames that quickly died down.

"Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep here.", yelled the old man who ran the temple. "Damn kids."

With the crisis over for now, Mars turned back to Luna. "Okay, two questions. For one, what was that thing. Secondly, who the f*ck was that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably know who the second figure is.
> 
> Stay tuned for the next chapter, entitled "Executive Meddling."


	4. Executive Meddling 1: Market Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More continuity porn and more evidence I have been watching too many abridged series.

Over the next few days, Rei learnt more and more about her mission and the story behind it. Back before the invention of writing, Earth had been home to a very wise and advanced civilisation. As we're all the other planets in the system. Then one day, another planet had drifted into Earth's orbit, becoming the Moon. The people of the Moon (maybe there was something to the old stories) had united the planets of the solar system into a large empire known as the Silver Milennium. The planets had all appointed one of their princesses to serve as guardian soldiers intended mainly for combat and scouting missions. These were known as the Senshi. Rei was the reincarnation of the last holder of the Sailor Mars title.

Then things changed once Earth decided to join after hundreds of years putting off. Their ruling prince, known officially by the title "Endymion", was betrayed by those closest to him. His bodyguards had allied with an evil witch, who served a dark force. The various planets were purged of life, until only Earth and the Moon were inhabited. The Mau people had detonated their planetary core to try and stop the creature, but to no avail. Luna and her companion Artemis were the only survivors, having left the planet for service years before. The evil force had destroyed the moon, but the incumbent monarch, Queen Serenity, had used the power of the Illusionary Silver Crystal (did this thing really exist?) to seal them away in a polar based prison. But knowing they may yet escape, she had sent the various deceased forward to be reincarnated in the future, ending her own life in the process. Now Rei had to find the others, unite with Sailor V and save the world from a powerful, dark god. No pressure, then!

Jadeite reported to his superior officer, Kunzite. The two of them had always disliked each other, even when they served the paltry prince of the Earth.

"Sir," Jadeite began, "the operation's failure was not my fault. My servant sensed there were people who would interfere with the operation, people who had, as the humans say "Sussed it out". I retrieved what little energy I could collect and sent her to perform a routine elimination. How was I to know that the target was one of the Sailor Senshi, let alone that there was another one. But don't worry, I have other operations in…"

"Silence!", bellowed his immediate superior. "I can get Queen Beryl to overlook your failure this time. I myself have also had trouble with another Sailor during my operations in England. It seems more of her lot have chosen to make themselves known. So continue with your operations for now, Jadeite." He dismissed his subordinate "I have one of my own. I will find one of the others and turn them into a powerful ally. Why didn't I think of the potential before? A Senshi on our side would be beneficial. And who am I talking to?" Then he dismissed his own question and went to recruit someone who could be of assistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of material I had planned for here had to be shafted to the next chapter. I didn't think it would be that long. The whole "iconic name as a title thing" was inspired by Ashen Author on fanfiction.net, so if you didn't like it, blame him.


	5. Executive Meddling 2: Double Whammy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bad guys win.

"And that is how I uncovered the corruption in the current government." Nana Ashahina put the finishing touches on her latest article. She made a living out of uncovering scandals in government. The paper she worked for payed her fairly well. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The reporter went to answer it. On the other side was a man with silver hair, long and let down. He held out his hand. There was a blast of light. And then everything changed…

Sometime later, the reporter walked into the new cram school. Only she now knew it was a front for one of Jadeite's numerous ongoing energy schemes. She knew a whole lot more than when she was still Nana. Before, she would have used the information for a story. But she wasn't Nana Ashahina anymore. Now, she was Ninjana, servant of the Dark Kingdom and Queen Beryl. She was here on a mission. She walked into the main classroom, much to the annoyance of the woman in there.

"You can't come in here!", the teacher said angrily "This place is for students and authorised personnel only. No press."

"Believe me," the other woman said, turning into her Youma form, a blue skinned kunoichi* with a white ponytail. "I have every right to be here."

The other Youma, named Garoben, stopped "Oh, I understand." Then she assumed her true form, a red creature with yellow eyes, short, messy hair and a sleeveless, black outfit. "I assume one of the other Shittenou sent you for something."

"You would be assuming correctly there, my friend. Kunzite believes that a potential Senshi may be attending your class. I need to find someone with unusual levels of intelligence."

Garoben instantly came up with a potential name "Anderson Ami. Half British, recently transferred from Brighton. IQ of over 300. I thought I recognised her from one of my first conflicts during the Silver Millennium. She's gotta be Sailor Mercury."

Ninjana was ecstatic (not that she could show it under her ninja cowl). "Good work. We're going to have to inspect her the next time she comes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Kunoichi: 1. a female ninja  
> 2\. An animation studio with a terrible resume.
> 
> Yes I'm mixing names and backstories from different adaptations. Don't judge me.


	6. Training Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And introducing our co-star, Makoto.

The four Shittenou had gathered in Queen Beryl's courtroom for a progress report. Each was flanked by their respective second-in-command; Balm for Jadeite, Widow for Nephrite and Ninjana for Kunzite. Zoisite's second, Techniclon, was one of the Seven Great Shadows lost in the Twilight Conflict. The 7 of them turned to face their monarch.

"All of you, present your report of the current progress.", Beryl said to her warriors.

Jadeite was first to speak "I have at least 10 operations in place, with Balm in charge of one of them. This will ensure I can gather large amounts of energy without immediate action from our new enemy. Of course, things would be running smoother if I didn't have outside interference." This last part in particular was directed at his silver-haired brother-in-arms.

"What disruption you face doesn't concern me. Just perform your duty." The queen turned to Nephrite. "How goes your search for the Phantom Crystal?"

The brunette answered in his deep voice. "I have discerned that the seven rainbow gems that comprise it will soon be within the same radius. I suggest we assign someone with their retrieval."

"An excellent idea, Nephrite. This mission will be assigned to Zoisite, given his lack of action of late."

the effeminate blonde stepped forward "As my queen commands, so it is done."

Finally, Kunzite gave his report. "My queen, I have uncovered a lead on one of the Sailor Guardians. Based on our surprisingly informative knowledge of the Silver Millennium, I have found a candidate that has a 78.34529% chance of being Mercury. I have calculated that she has a 89.2715% chance of attending Jadeite's "cram school"."

"Excellent!", the evil queen replied. She then addressed all of them at once. "All of you are currently reporting success so far. However, I expect you to continue your current streaks of good luck. Fail me, and I'll have you all put on ice." The four were scared, knowing that this threat was no exaggeration. She really would freeze them solid.

* * *

Elsewhere, Rei had started attending self-defence classes. Luna said she didn't need them, but she felt her powers weren't enough. And the local crows had dropped to 2, both of which were following her around. She went into the health centre and asked for the martial arts class. The receptionist pointed her to room 7. The instructor was a tall, handsome blonde. The name on the timetable said his name was Tenoh Haruka. Rei saw that apart from her, there was only one other girl in the room. A brunette with brown hair. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a tease, aren't I?


	7. Cooking With Miss Kino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title says it all really

Rei went over to the Brunette and introduced herself. The other girl did likewise. "I'm Makoto Kino, but the people who know me call me Mako. Hey, aren't you that girl from the temple? The one who has all those visions?"

Rei replied sheepishly "You see, I try not to talk about that. I think my "gift" is something that isn't helping me make friends."

But Mako was understanding "That's okay. I have some trouble connecting with people. I try to use what I learn at these classes to help people in trouble. You know, like a sort of guardian angel. But every time I try to help someone, I'm always the one who gets off worse. Recently, I got kicked out of school for eating up a group of bullies."

Rei was sympathetic "Have you tried talking about it with your parents?" But the other girl's sudden solemn expression told her all she needed to know. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. My mum died when I was little. I know how you feel."

With that, Mako warmed up a bit. "I guess we have a lot more in common then I thought. You're the third person in this class to have a dead parent. The first overall is Chiba over there." She pointed to a high school senior, male with black hair. Rei thought he'd be a looker if he didn’t have the scratches that covered half his face. Then Mako had an idea. "Hey, I've got a catering seminar tomorrow and I'm allowed to bring a plus one. Do you want to come?"

Rei thought about it for a moment, and then replied; "Well I do fancy myself as a bit of a cook. And I've got a fairly light schedule tomorrow. So what the heck, it's a date."

 

The room where the seminar was taking place was different to Rei's expectations. And not in a good way. The room was a very small room, with only about 20 people in attendance. Even more surprisingly, there were only 10 cookers, as if they expected such a low turnout. And then the instructor, a large dumpy woman, came in. Both Rei and Mako were instantly suspicious of her.

"Alright, class. Today, we will be making a traditional dish from the motherland, known as Strudel. Please preheat your work stations to 120 degrees.

The students all complied, except for Rei and Mako, who were still suspicious. And sure enough, everyone soon collapsed, their energy sucked out of them. Then, the instructor laughed, her body twisting and reshaping into a Youma with purple, mottled skin.


	8. Jupiter's Electric Debut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two new characters. One expected, the other unexpected

Seeing the strange purple creature got Mako into a huff. She was so angry that she barely had time to register Rei running out of the room, or the black cat watching from the windowsill. With everyone else out for the count, the Brunette decided to take matters into her own hands.

With nothing but sheer determination, Mako charged at the creature, picking it up and lifting it over her head. "I came here to have a good time with a friend." She was so focused that she didn't notice Sailor Mars enter through another door, or the cat having a shocked reaction to something (namely, the girl having the alchemist's symbol for Jupiter appear on her forehead). "I'm not going to let you get off without payback.", Mako continued, throwing the creature at the wall. Before the creature could strike back, a voice rang out from behind them.

"Mars Fire Soul, Ignite!"

A burst of flame flew through the air, hitting the creature. Makoto turned to see a black-haired girl, about her age, dressed in a female styled sailor suit. But then the black cat she had looked past earlier. It had a green pen at its feet. But that wasn't the strangest part. That would be when the cat spoke to her.

"Makoto Kino, you are one of the chosen warriors to defend Earth from the Dark Forces. You are Jupiter, the warrior of Thunder and Courage. Now take up this pen and fulfill your destiny."

With these words, the girl picked up the pen and held it up to the light. She yelled "Jupiter Power, Make Up!" Thunder shot out from the small rod, surrounding her. In a few seconds, she was dressed in a similar costume to Sailor Mars, but with the red areas coloured green. 

 

The appearance of the other Senshi warrior startled the creature. It watched as the newcomer sprouted a lightning rod from her tiara. Then the new enemy launched into a speech "On behalf of Jupiter, I call upon the power of thunder and Lightning to vanquish this evil." And then the attack began "Jupiter Supreme Thunder!" The attack caused severe pain to the creature, enough that its preservation instincts told it to flee.

The Youma made it over halfway out before it stopped. It realised that the two Senshi weren't following it out. They must have stayed behind to try and return the stolen energy. Typical sentimental humans. The loss of their hard-gained energy didn't concern the creature. As long as it could pin this on the two interlopers, it would remain alive.

It was then that the Youma noticed the other man. He was dressed in a dinner suit, a top hat and a full face helmet. He was obviously human, the creature could sense that much. He pulled a rose out of his pocket, and threw it. The Youma screamed as its heart was pierced. And then it knew no more.

 

Elsewhere, Jadeite felt something. His servant, Bakuril had been eliminated. That meant that the same interloper had struck again. That, or someone else had found out about the Dark Kingdom and taken his servant out. Regardless, he needed to take action to ensure there was no more interference. He'd had enough of that from Kunzite and was guessing that Zoisite would be encroaching in on him soon. He needed a warrior that could stop the mysterious Senshi before she could attack. And he had just the person for the job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, a cliffhanger.
> 
> Yes, the guy in the helmet IS Tuxedo Mask. Why he's wearing the helmet has been hinted at and will be explained in the future.


	9. Ocean's Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of backstory for the at the moment barely featured third protagonist.

It began with a dream. But she was an artist. Getting inspiration from dreams was nothing new to her. But Michiru knew that this dream was something else. Here, she found herself in a strange city, which was very Greek. There was no-one there, but a strange little boy, dressed in white. He had a horn protruding from his forehead.

"Who are you?, she asked him. "I feel like I should know you."

The other figure simply smiled "And so you should. I have been with you since the day you started dreaming. I have been with everyone on Earth. My name is Prince Helios, protector of dreams." And then he changed into something else. He became a white horse with wings. About the only consistent feature was the horn on his head. "But you know me in another form."

And then Michiru recognised him. "I think I had a dream about you once, when I was about 5. What is this place?"

With that, the Unisus turned back into Helios. "This city was once the centre of the Earth. The history I tell you now was over thousands of years ago. Back then, the planet was known as Gaiea and was ruled over by a singular ruler. Every planet in the sky was inhabited by a highly advanced civilisation, even the new planetoid that had appeared only at night."

"And by that, I take it you mean the moon."

"You would be correct to assume that.", Helios continued. "Back then, the moon was home to the most advanced civilisation of them all. They were the leaders of a vast (to put it in your terms) empire known as the Silver Millennium, or the Silver Twilight. Earth was the only planet not involved with the union of the planets. That was, until the Princess of the Moon and the Prince of the Earth met and formed a mutual attachment to one another. This grew to the point that they told each other their real names, as both were required to be addressed publicly as "Serenity" and "Endymion" respectively. This romance is when things began to fall apart."

"Why?", asked Michiru. "What happened?"

Helios resumed his story. "Many on Earth were opposed to the relationship with an alien, even the prince's own personal retinue. Considering that two of them were in similar relationships with the princesses of Mars and Venus, there is some hypocrisy there. But I digress. To end their ruler's plans, they called upon a demon from another dimension. Some asked for power, but others took in two much, becoming horrific, inhuman creatures, born of nothing but hate. The most powerful of these were the 7 Shadows of Death. Regardless of what they asked for, everyone in the revolution gained eternal life. During a party on the Moon to celebrate "Gaiea's" initiation into the Silver Millennium, the forces of the demon launched their attack. There were no survivors, save for a pair of cats, who were left wandering the Earth for thousands of years

"With her last breath, Queen Serenity of the Moon used their symbol of power, the Phantom Silver Crystal to banish the rebels into a prison in one of Earth's polar regions and to reincarnate the deceased warriors of the Silver Milennium in the future, giving them a second chance at life. The event had seen loss of life on every planet. Only Earth had survivors, who subsequently grew apart from each other. This city survived because I moved it, and myself, into this dimension, where we would never die. But recently, the seal on the Kingdom of Darkness has been broken. The rebels that destroyed the Silver Millennium have returned, and with them, more evil forces have set their sights on Earth. It is time to reawaken those protectors that were reincarnated."

Michiru understood where he was going. "So you're saying I'm one of them? Are you going to awaken the others?"

The small boy replied solemnly "Yes and no. I was only entrusted with 3 of the pens that the Senshi used to transform. For future reference, the "Sailor Senshi" is a rough translation of the name of the defenders." Sure enough, he held out three pens, with the alchemist's symbols for Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. "One of these is yours. The other two, you will have to find on your own. Good luck, Sailor Neptune." With that, he vanished and Michiru woke up.

And so, Michiru Kaioh spent the next two years looking for signs of the others she was searching for. Though she didn't find them, she found one of the Senshi who awakened through other means. She may have interfered with her first battle to save her, but she decided to keep her distance from her. At least for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it. An event that wasn't told in the manga or either of the 2 anime. This was actually the third idea I had for this chapter. The first two ideas, I will reuse down the line. TTFN


	10. School Daze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sailor Mercury finally comes to contend with the Dark Kingdom. But is she friend or foe?

Rei came back from another long school day. It had been slightly different to her regular school day. Many of the other girls had been acting like they were insane. Upon investigation, the only link had been a few playing cards. A few of the victims had been to a new fortune teller, but not all of them. Perhaps this was another Dark Kingdom plot. She'd have to talk to Luna and Makoto about it.

As if on cue, the familiar black cat appeared on the walls of the shrine, holding a piece of paper down by it's paws. "Rei, we have a situation."

Rei sighed. The tarot troubles would have to wait. "What is it now, Luna?"

The cat handed Rei the paper. "My superiors have intel that there have been people at an after school seminar haven't been coming home." Rei turned over the paper to reveal a photo of a blue haired girl, approx. 14, dressed in a Juuban school uniform. "They think that this girl might have something to do with it."

Rei was instantly serious. "We should get over there immediately. There's no time to get Mako." She began to run, but then stopped, embarrassed. "Luna, where is this place?"

* * *

 

Meanwhile, across town, Ami Anderson was worried about her grades. This was something she had never experienced personally. The flash drive that contained her work for the seminar was missing. She must have left it at the arcade she visited earlier. She'd been so wrapped up with her new friend Usagi showing her around, she put it down and forgot it. She was wondering how to explain it to Ms. Gretchen, when the woman herself showed up to talk to her.

"Ami", she said in her usual friendly tone, "there's a Mr. Akiyama here to talk to you. He's been reviewing your progress this year and found it quite impressive."

"Oh!", Ami said, quite surprised. "Are you sure you're not mad about me losing my flash drive?"

"Oh no.", Ms. Gretchen replied. "It's just a silly piece of metal and plastic. Anyway, when you get back, I want you to lead today's class." As the girl nodded and left, Garoben smiled underneath her disguise. Soon, her most brilliant pupil would be Queen Beryl's most valuable spy.

* * *

 

Outside the building, Rei and Luna were discussing their plan to sneak in. Luna presented her human friend with a pen. "This will allow you to assume the appearance of anything you can think of. Just say "Disguise Power and state what you want to be turned into."

"Ok." Rei replied. She then held up the pen and declared "Disguise Power! Turn me into an inspection agent." There was a flash, and then the magic trick was complete. Rei was now dressed in a formal businesswoman suit. She kept his charade up until she was outside the classroom, as indicated by the notes for each floor. Then, she transformed into Sailor Mars, before preceding to burst into the room.

"So you're the one that's been killing my comrades.", the teacher declared, transforming into her true self. "Perhaps you'd like to meet the class.", she said, beckoning her army of mind controlled zombies to attack.

But Rei was prepared for something like this. Her grandfather had taught her to carry a protection ofuda (or as a non-believer would put it, an anti-ghost sticker.) and Luna told her that her Senshi powers could supercharge her spiritual skills. "I call upon the power of Mars. (She began throwing the ofuda around) Evil spirits, begone!" With this one swift motion, everyone collapsed, the possession blocked from taking effect.

"You'll regret that!", the Youma said angrily. She turned her arm into an axe and prepared to strike. But before she could, another Senshi dressed in blue appeared in the doorway.

"Mercury Shabon Spray - Blast!"

With that one shot, the room was filled with mist. When it cleared, the Youma was gone. The affected people were beginning to recover. Sailor Mars turned to face her unexpected rescuer "Sailor Mercury, I presume?"

"What gave me away?"

"The attack name began with "Mercury". That kind of clinches it. Now come on, let's leave before people start asking for autographs."

But as Rei and Luna walked away, neither realised that their memory was failing them. Luna would have recalled that Sailor Mercury's spells were primarily defensive. And Rei would have noticed that there was an extra victim getting off the floor, who now went over to Mercury.

"Congratulations!", said Garoben. "Welcome to the Dark Kingdom, Mercury."

* * *

 

Elsewhere, two cyclists were engaged in a motorcycle race. On one bike was Haruka Tenoh, a relative newcomer driving her regular bike. On the other was Takamoto Konishii, riding a computer guided cycle. Haruka, in a desperate attempt to win, pushed her opponent into the wall. A faulty wire on the bike caused it and it's rider to be consumed in an explosion. When medics went over to check on him, they were horrified by what they saw…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week: a new villain
> 
> You can figure out who "Mr. Akiyama" is from doing research 
> 
> I changed the disk from the source material into a flash drive because Zip disks are generally museum pieces nowadays.


	11. The Rise of Motro.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kunzite's latest plan creates a dangerous new foe.

"This is Rica Miyazaki here at the Juuban Central Hospital, where rising sports star Takamoto Konishii was admitted earlier today. Konishii was rushed to the hospital following serious injuries sustained in his recent race with local champion Haruka Tenoh. Although he survived, parts of his prototype motorcycle were left embedded in his body, including the guidance computer the system was designed to -". In his hospital room, Takamoto switched off the television and sunk into his angry thoughts. "Haruka did this to me. I'll make him pay, even if it's the last thing I do." As he said this, a blonde man, with hair tied up in a ponytail, walked into the room. "What do you want?", he demanded.

The blonde's reply was short and to the point. "You!"

 

Outside the room, Haruka was waiting. She wanted to go in, say sorry to Takamoto for injuring him, then get out. She never was the sentimental type. Especially since her best friend had come over, telling her about some great destiny. While she did believe it, she didn't want any part of it. It wasn't as if her life depended on it. Then there was an explosion, which filled the room with smoke. When it cleared, there was a large metallic man, standing over her with an arm-mounted blade. The look on it's face (or what looked like a face) was a vengeful one. "What do you want with me?", Haruka asked fearfully.

The metal creature replied angrily "You destroyed my chances. Now I shall destroy you."

Haruka was shocked "Takamoto, is that you?"

"Takamoto is gone. There is only Motro!" With that, Motro prepared to bring his blade down for the kill, only to be knocked back by a blast of water. Haruka turned to see her friend Michiru, dressed in her "superhero" get-up.

"Get to safety, Miss Tenoh." Michiru said that to keep up the illusion that they didn't know each other. "I'll deal with this robot freak." As Haruka turned to run away, the being now known as Motro turned to his new opponent and began analysing her.

<<{Female, average build, possesses hydro kinetic abilities, potential threat level to unit: 95% in her favour. Optimal solution: distraction.}>>

With this decision reached, he turned towards a female nurse and aimed a cannon at her. "Operation: Extraction!" The nurse collapsed into a daze as a small egg-like object flew out of her head, landed in his hand and turned black.

Zoisite was less than pleased with his new servant's actions. "Why did you do that? We don't have any need for a person's Star seed."

Motro turned to his new master and replied "Correct, but we do have a need for the phage that they hold off the appearance of." Sure enough, the nurse turned into a bizarre mutant, with blue skin, an old-fashioned outfit and a needle on her hand. The creature instantly moved to attack the Senshi that had appeared. "While that creature serves as a distraction for our opponent, we can go looking for our objective."

"With that, he turned his body into a motorcycle, with his legs forming the set, the arms forming the front wheel and his head became the handlebars. Zoisite hopped onto the moped and rode off, looking at the image of his first target, as determined by the medical records he downloaded.

To Be Continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Motro is my own original character, but he does take inspiration from other characters in fiction. His accident is based off Cyborg from DC comics, his vendetta and creation is based off Zeltrax from Power Rangers Dino Thunder. Finally, his motif is based off another Power Rangers villain, Motordrone from the Ninja Storm season.


	12. Crystals are a girl's worst friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The quest for the Rainbow Crystals begins in earnest.

>>Name: Koichi Hamada.  
Date of Birth: Unknown  
Age: approx. 67  
Family: Daughter Risa, deceased. Son-in-law Tadashi. Granddaughter Rei.  
Current Residence: Hikawa Shrine.  
Probability of housing Rainbow Crystal: Very likely.<<

The old man was in a huff. His granddaughter was spending time off her duties with friends. As a result, nearly everything around the temple was a mess. He was simply too old to deal with it. Not helping matters was the fact that his new helper, Jed, had also taken the day off for "personal reasons". What he wouldn't give for someone to help get his mind off this. And then he heard a voice, crying out in pain.

"Help me. Somebody help me, please. I don't know how long I have."

The old man walked out to the front of the temple. There, he saw a man slumped over a very unusual moped. The strained voice was still ringing out. Then the old man noticed that the figure wasn't moving his lips. The sound instead seemed to be coming from the vehicle.

"Oh dear.", Zoisite said in his mock sarcastic tones. "It seems that you've forgotten we used to be friends." He pulled out a large black crystal. "Allow me to remind you."

As Motro resumed his bipedal form, he saw the old man collapsing, a red gem appearing on his heart. "I told you that there was a very positive chance that he was a crystal carrier. But I will protest that you disabled my pain dampeners for your ploy."

"Oh I'm sorry, but I just don't have the capacity to cry in pain convincingly. And you've obviously reactivated them by now"

The two were so deep in conversation that they didn't notice Rei, Mako and Ami returning from their day at the park (which had been quite eventful by the way). Nor did they notice the three girls turning into their alter egos. Not until they began their speech.

"How dare you attack an annocent man. We won't stand for something as unforgivable as that."

"We are the guardians of love and justice,…"

"… who will right wrongs and triumph over evil."

Then the three of them said in unison "And that means you!"

"You're too late, Sailors." Motro sneered. With that, the Crystal flew out of the old man's chest and into Zoisite's hand. The old man growled, his muscles expanding to the point his clothes ripped off. His whole body covered itself in black fur. His cranium expanded and grew a horn. Finally, his eyes opened to expose a pair of large yellow sclera with blood red pupils. "Shadow Warrior Ijii has awoken."

"Oh.", Zoisite said with some disappointment. "Not who I was expecting, but still a good find. Now I'll test him against the Senshi."

"No!", Motro replied insistently. "We can't risk losing this valuable asset. Take him back with you. I'll deal with these girls." Zoisite decided to comply, teleporting away with the warrior. Motro turned back towards his opponents. Mars was still shocked from what happened to the old man, but Mercury and Jupiter were ready for a fight. "Let's go, girls"

"Mercury Shabon Spray, Blast!" But this had no effect on the cybernetic terror. He blasted her with a laser from his blade.

"It's no good, Mercury. My body is composed of waterproof plastic."

"Jupiter Supreme Thunder, Crash!" But this led to very much the same thing.

"Your power won't have any effect either. Polymers are non-conductive."

He raised his blade for the final kill. But before he could lower it, a rose flew in from seemingly nowhere, severing his connection. Sailor Mars, having snapped out of her funk, decided to take this opportunity to finish him off.

"Mars Fire Soul Ignite!"

This set the mechanical man on fire, horribly burning his outer shell. "I shall return!", he yelled before teleporting away, leaving his two enemies with questions.

 

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sailor Neptune was still fighting the nurse phage, calling itself Sailor Medicine. And she was losing. Her mutant opponent could spray a liquid from her needle arm that induced paralysis. Michiru thought she was done for as the monster advanced on her. Then, another voice rang out.

"Uranus World Shaking!" A blast of wind blew across the room, knocking the nurse into the wall, rendering her unconscious. The second figure went over to Neptune and carried her to safety. Once they were sure the two of them were out of earshot, Michiru finally spoke.

"So Haruka, what made you decide to finally accept your role in life?"

Haruka sighed, before explaining "That robot that created the monster was Takamoto. He blames me for his injuries. If he's gonna come back for more, I'll need to defend myself."

Michiru nodded "Should we tell the other Senshi about him and us?"

"No." Haruka insisted. "We don't know who they are and vice versa. Besides, it could put them at risk. If we really need backup, there's still another Senshi to find."

Michiru relented. "You're right. We need to find Saturn if we're going to defeat these guys and find the Princess they're all looking for. Whatever it takes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So another Senshi has been awakened and a shadow warrior has been returned to the Dark Kingdom. What will happen next?
> 
> Motro will return, albeit as less of a walking fire hazard


	13. You Say You Want a Revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Motro goes in search of the last candidate for a Rainbow Crystal. But there's more to this than meets the eye

Mercury teleported back to the Dark Kingdom, after another busy day undercover. Luna had explained to her, Makoto and Rei about the 7 Shadows and the threat they posed. She felt slightly annoyed to have been deprived this information by her real superiors. In addition, Rei had decided to close the temple until she could find and free her grandfather. Jadeite would be less than pleased. He had taken up a position at the shrine as part of one of his energy gathering schemes. Now he'd have to cancel it. 

As if on cue, Motro walked into the room. "We need to talk, Mercury! About Zoisite."

"Oh, feeling doubts about him already? I remember that you chose to stay behind and take us on. How're you doing by the way?", Mercury replied, in a sarcastic tone.

Motro growled "I'm doing fine, thank you for asking. I've made some upgrades to my shield, to protect myself from fire damage. And that's not what I was trying to talk about. What I meant to discuss is that Zoisite has to be eliminated."

Mercury was surprised. "And what brought that idea into your mechanical brain?"

"According to a survey I conducted, many of the Youma and a few of the higher ranking soldiers find him to be an annoyance. Especially Nephrite & Jadeite's followers, with whom he has interfered on more than one occasion."

"I see your point, but how can we get rid of him. The other Senshi have only thwarted 3 missions on their own and Beryl will hardly condone killing him.", Mercury pointed out.

But Motro was prepared for this argument. "I don't intend to involve either of them. Observe." His arms transformed into a pair of cannons and fired. One shot fire, while the other shot thunder. "Once they find the body, they'll have nobody to blame but Sailor's Mars and Jupiter."

"Ah, so we lure him out.", Mercury realised. But how do we do that?"

"Simple. The records I downloaded from the hospital indicate only 5 further potential carriers of Rainbow Crystals. Nephrite foresaw that they would all be in the city of Tokyo within this quarter of the year. Logic dictates that the final carrier is an animal."

"Are you suggesting that we sneak out and visit a veterinarian clinic?"

"Yes!", Motro said with an invisible sneer. "And I know which one…"

Meanwhile in a pet shop, the owner was just closing up for the night. It had been another good sales day. Selling these furry freaks was an easy source of money. And the small creatures would make people cherish them to the point of obsession. This obsession would generate the energy that General Jadeite required. Even buying this place from the previous owner had seen little difficulty. The importance of success was not lost on the Youma, especially since 3 of her sisters had been killed, with a 4th gone into hiding and a 5th forced to abort. Her mission was more vital than ever.

Suddenly, a large metal man accompanied by a petite, teenage girl walked through the door. "Excuse me, Iguara.", the metal man said, addressing her by he real name, rather than her adopted alias."We need to check your records for help with an important mission."

"Oh, I see.", the Youma said spitefully, turning into her true form, a large, muscular reptile woman. "They're kept in the back. But be quick. I'm supposed to close in 10 minutes.

"We only need 5.", the girl replied. Sure enough, they were out of the room in 5 minutes. "We got what we were after."

"My conclusion turned out to be an accurate one. It appears that the final Rainbow Crystal is located within a cat."

"Thank you for that information. I'll put it to good use." The three of them turned towards the fourth voice: General Zoisite. "While you traitors will be left here to burn!" With this declaration, he waved his hand and released a blast of heat into the room. Motro and Mercury collapsed, the temperature too much for them. But the Youma Iguara was far from weakened.

"Don't you know reptiles thrive in the heat, you idiot?" She grabbed Zoisite and threw him out of the window. Outside the building, the general found himself confronted by his comrade Jadeite, accompanied by two Youma disguised as a gypsy fortune teller and a bus driver.

"My brother!", Zoisite coughed out. "Help me. One of your servants has turned on me."

"Yes, because I asked her to." Jadeite sneered. "You see, when Motro went around asking opinions on you, he also encouraged a few of us to pull this little rebellion so we could put you down. Why do you think he walked around without his disguise so carelessly? He was trying to lure you here. And it succeeded admirably."

"You traitor!", Zoisite began cursing. "F*ck you. F*ck you, you w*nker! Queen Beryl will hear of this!"

"Affirmative!", Motro replied, having recovered from the extreme heat. "She'll hear that you interfered with another vital operation and tried to kill General Jadeite and several valuable servants. She'll hear how the Sailor Senshi showed up, seeking vengeance for the loss of the old man. And how in their anger, they destroyed you whole." Then he pulled out his twin cannons and fired at the effeminate blonde, grievously wounding him.

"I'll get you for this!", Zoisite wheezed out.

Jadeite summoned a spear of ice and plunged it into his rival's heart. "Somehow, I doubt that. If I find Techniclon, I'll give her your regards." Once he was sure of Zoisite's demise, he turned to his servants. "Honour him as he deserves!" Taking his meaning, the three Youma assumed their true forms and began to devour the lingering life energy left behind. Then he went over to Mercury. "Make sure Mars and Jupiter hear of this. It will throw them off our true status." The bluenette nodded and walked home. Jadeite then turned to Motro. What will we do about the remaining crystals?"

Motro replied "Perhaps you should offer to take over the search in Zoisite's memory." Jadeite nodded in agreement and left. "Then I'm free to proceed with my own plans."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it. Zoisite is dead. This was primarily because I wanted to kill one of the Shittenou by chapter 13 and he was the only real candidate. The whole referring to their allies as "brother/sister" is just an affectionate title. They're not really related. And as hinted at last time, the "Nightmare in Dreamland" episode did happen offscreen. I have no idea what went down, but it had to be the most epic thing in the history of epic things.


	14. A Star Seed is Torn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chekhov's gunman and skill both show up in this chapter.

Jadeite walked into Motro's makeshift chamber. There was little in the room, aside from a jewelled capsule on a shelf. "You'll be pleased to hear that Beryl fell for our little ruse. The evidence you fabricated was enough to convince the others of Zoisite's treachery. My Youma in particular are being rewarded."

Light focused on Motro, who had taken off his armour, exposing the human beneath. "Good. Now we only have to deal with the four Sailors interfering with our plans."

"They're not the only obstacle.", the general said with aggravation. "My servant Derella was supposed to be holding a fake reality show as part of another scheme to gather energy. However, a stage director has scheduled the theatre for a performance of "An Inspector Calls" the same night."

"And you want me to deal with her for you?", his cyborg partner snapped back "That is why you came here, isn't it?" He went over and picked up the capsule on the shelf. "Don't worry, soon I'll have one more of these and you'll have one less pest to deal with."

"Good, but what exactly is that thing? I've never seen anything like it."

Motro simply stated "the stuff that life is made of.", before walking out with the object.

* * *

At the temple, Rei was busy cleaning the temple, when she received a phone call. It was Ami. "What is it? You'd better have important news."

"I'm sure that you'll want to here this, Rei. You know that blonde man with the ponytail who turned your granddad into that big ape?"

"You've seen him?" Rei was suddenly focused on the horrible, fiery vengeance she had been planning since that day. "Where is he?"

"He's dead!", Ami said in a matter of fact voice. "Last night, I was near the pet shop when I saw three Youma and a man in a similar uniform to him ripping him apart."

Rei was slightly annoyed at not being able to wreak vengeance on her grandfather's abductor. "So you think that the enemy isn't very chummy with each other?"

"Definitely. That's why I had to call your phone." What Ami didn't mention was that she wasn't using a phone herself. Rather, she was using a technopathy technique taught to her by Nephrite. Then she continued "I also think there's another attack about to take place. Have you read today's newspaper?"

"I'll take a look." Rei went over and and looked at the front page headline. It read **"War over theatre ownership. Director Akane Gushiken argues with Mikan."**  Rei looked at the photo of Akane and was shocked. It was the same face as Sister Angela from school. She picked up the phone and resumed talking to Ami. "Do you really think Angel- sorry, Akane or Mikan could be a Youma?" 

"Definitely!", her friend replied. "I'll fill Makoto in on this and we'll meet you there in three hours." 

* * *

Elsewhere, at the theatre in question, the acclaimed director was still arguing with the local sensation. 

"I'm telling you, young lady. I booked this theatre months ago." Akane could not hide her contempt for this young upstart. Clearly she had gone to a public school.

"Well I'm filming a reality tv show. Surely that takes precedence over your silly playscript.", Mikan Shiratori (or rather, the Youma pretending to be her) countered. 

"Is there a problem here, ladies?" Both turned towards a newcomer, a young man dressed in dark colours, wearing sunglasses. "The theatre manager sent me over, something about a dispute?" 

"Indeed.", the director said with a huff. "This young whore believes that she is entitled to the theatre, even though I made a reservation beforehand." 

"Well then, I'm sure this can be resolved without a fuss.", the young man said, taking off his glasses. Underneath was an eye that was not human, not even alive. A beam shot from the metal organ, freezing Akane in place. His target immobilised, Motro and Derella both assumed their Youma forms. "And now my dear, I'll turn you from a problem into an asset."

"Hold it!" The two of them turned towards the source of the cry. "As anticipated, it was the Sailor Scouts. "We'll save you the speech and get to the point.", Mars said angrily. "Where's the old priest you turned into that monster?"

Motro took 1/2 a nanosecond to calculate who she was referring to. "Ah, Shadow Warrior Ijii. Don't worry, the old man is alright and can be saved. Too bad I can't say the same for you."

As he said this, a star seed, identical to the one he pulled out of the nurse, flew out of Akane Guskiken. And like that one, it instantly went black. But the body it was pulled from began contorting violently. Her skin turned blue, her clothes burned off, exposing a set of tights similar to the Senshi, but with a machine in place of the bow. Her hair turned bright yellow and turned into bangs. A mask appeared on her eyes, with a camera attachment on top of her head. Finally, her hands turned into a megaphone and a marker board. Then, the contortions stopped and the new phage stood proud.

"I am Sailor Director, champion of film-making. On behalf of the industry, I shall right wrongs and triumph over all competitors." She pointed her marker hand at the Sailors "And that means you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit, it took me a lot longer than usual to decide what I wanted for this chapter. I knew I wanted Sailor Director to appear ever since I included the Phage in chapter 11. I also wanted to have Motro go rogue since I created the character, so I don't overuse him to the point he becomes a scrappy character.
> 
> I'm also sorry for the cliffhanger, since I felt the chapter was getting a bit long.


	15. Conclusions and Beginnings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing from last chapter, a new phage has been born, another Youma has been exposed and tonight's show isn't going on. What will happen next?

Sailor Mars was shocked at what had just happened. A woman she saw every day, who had been something of an influence, had been transformed into a monster. It was her grandfather all over again.

On the other hand, Mercury and Jupiter were more angry. "What did you do to her, you monster?"

It was Akane, or Sailor Director as she called herself, who replied. "He made me better than ever. Before I was so uptight and stressed over trivial matters. But now, I've got a real purpose in life. Killing you brats."

With that, all six combatants jumped up and engaged an opponent. Mercury went up against Director, Jupiter faced the Youma that had been posing as Mikan Shiratori and Mars went up against Motro himself. She tried blasting him with her flames, but he absorbed them without harm. "As you can see," Motro began gloating "I've made some upgrades since the last time we met. I can now absorb the oxygen from your fire, thus rendering it useless. You cannot harm me, but I can harm you!" With that, he deployed his arm cannon and blasted her to the wall. "You're doomed. Any last words?"

Before she could reply, a rose shot down from the gallery and struck the mechanical man. Both he and Rei turned to see a newcomer. He was dressed in a dinner suit, with his entire face was covered by what appeared to be a helmet.

"An interloper. Who are you?"

"I am Tuxedo Mask. I live to bring you people down for what you did to me, to ensure that it never happens to anyone else again."

Motro was confused. "Query: What "did" the Dark Kingdom do to you?" The man who called himself Tuxedo Mask pulled his mask off slightly, allowing for a glimpse of his injuries, but not a glimpse of his face. The right side of his face had a large scar, which while beginning to heal, was still pretty gruesome to behold. Motro observed the man's disfigurement. "I see." Then he shot at Tuxedo, knocking him back into the seats. Then he teleported out, reappeared next to Sailor Director and teleported away with her.

This just left the Youma at the mercy of the three warriors. "No. Please. Spare me!", she cried, but she got no sympathy from any of them.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Motro and Sailor Director appeared in an alleyway. It was dark, damp and abandoned by everyone but the rats. "Why did you pull me away?", Director snarled angrily. "I was about to defeat the blue sailor girl."

"Because they are not the main enemy." Motro projected an image of Queen Beryl. "Tuxedo Mask may have been driven by vengeance, but he had a point I could sympathise with."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"The Dark Kingdom took away my humanity, just as they did his. If they are allowed to succeed, then everyone on Earth will suffer the same fate. I must ensure that this does not come to pass."

Director was slightly dubious "You really think the two of us can stop an organisation as large as Queen Beryl's?"

But Motro had considered this. "We'll build an army of phages like you and then we'll take the fight to them!"

* * *

 

A few days later, Makoto was walking through the town centre. There were fewer people here than the usual crowded block. Apparently, a new popular type of pet had caused a few people to go to Smeargol levels of insanity. Mako had heard this from an old friend whose cousin had brought one of these pets.

The aftermath of the incident at the theatre was hectic. The real Mikan had turned out to be locked in her closet the whole time, frozen in ice. She had called off the talent show, since she never actually organised it. The man in the tuxedo had vanished as soon as he'd appeared. The play Akane Gushiken was intending to put on had to be delayed to another night, in order to find a new director.

Afterwards, Rei and Mako had both been confused. The evidence that the enemy was breaking apart had turned out to be unreliable. And now Rei had another person to worry about besides her Grandfather. Luna had said there was a way to heal both of them, but the problem was that only the Senshi of the Moon or the Princess they were looking for could use it.

Then, she ran into another girl, who was running in the other direction. "Would you mind watching where you're going?", Mako said rhetorically.

"I'm sorry.", the other girl replied. "I was just trying to get to this new dance club that just opened. It's over there!" She pointed to where the club stood, a flashing neon sign saying "Dark Club" advertising it. "Hey, would you like to come with me? It's free for girls under 17, like you and me."

Mako shrugged. "I guess I could give it a try." She walked over to the club, not noticing the other girl smile wickedly. One target was down, and there was one more to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took longer than usual, but I've been working on my project for an abridged series. However, I have left a hook for the next chapter at the end, so I hope you enjoy.


	16. The Dance of Doom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing from last week, Rei decides to investigate Mako's New hangout, only to find something sinister her way comes.

It was a Saturday. Rei and Ami were both getting impatient. Mako was never this late. She should have been at the temple at 9 o'clock and it was 3 hours after the fact.

"This is getting ridiculous.", Rei said impatiently. "I'm going over to her place."

"I don't know about that.", Ami replied. "If she's not here, than she's probably not awake at all. It's not like her to oversleep."

Before they could discuss it further, their friend turned up, albeit looking slightly pale. Rei went over to her friend, only for the Brunette to reach out and grab her, sucking out her energy. "Must… feed…" the pale figure wheezed out. Thinking quickly, Rei pulled out a charm and stuck it on her friend's face. Mako convulsed briefly, before returning to normal. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us.", Ami replied. "Where've you been?"

Mako thought for a moment, trying to remember, before she recounted "Last night, I was at this new club at the mall. I went inside and it was absolutely packed. Then the DJ started moving his arms in this weird way and then things went blank. When I woke up, I felt this weird feeling in my neck and felt this weird compulsion to steal energy." After telling her story, Mako had Ami use her Mercury Computer to scan her for abnormalities. The bluenette was shocked by what she saw(or rather, pretended to be shocked).

"According to these readouts, you're turning into a Youma. In a normal human, this process would have already completed itself. But due to your abnormal physiology, your body is rejecting the change for now."

Rei was worried about the use of the words "for now". "How long until the transformation completes itself? And can it be reversed or stopped?"

Ami continued reading the screen. "At the current rate of progression, 18 hours, 23 minutes and less than 15 seconds. As for stopping it, we'll have to destroy the one that did this to her. Presumably the DJ."

"Well then, ladies," Mako began "who's up for goin' clubbing."

* * *

 

Later that day, the girls were walking up to the Dark Club with a platonic friend of Ami's, one Ryo Urawa. Ami had suggested bringing him because 3 girls going in together would look off. So she had brought a friend from school who had feelings for her. They went into the club without a hitch. Then at the first opportunity, Ami ditched Ryo and the three girls transformed into their alter egos. But then they saw Jupiter's skin turn green and her fingernails elongate into claws.

"Oh dear," Mercury gasped "it appears that being in her Sailor Guardian form removes the additional protection from the Youma infection. But I don't know why it works like that."

"I'll tell you why!" Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury turned to face the source of the voice. It was the DJ, who jumped with an inhuman strength towards them. "It's because I prepared that batch of my venom specifically for Jovian DNA." Then he assumed his true form, an unholy cross between a plant and an insect. And then he began speaking in rap.

"Yo. The name is Flytrap. I'm coming at ya through the medium of rap. I'm the new biggest thing in town, and you girly girls are goin' down."

Mars made to attack the Youma, only to be hit by a high pitched scream from her left, knocking her down. She turned to see another girl, the same girl that Makoto had met the night before, who now assumed a vampiric appearance.

"I didn't want to make a fuss, 'bout the fact that there were two of us. You don't need to look so green. Allow me to introduce my partner Kyurene."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter planned for a while, even before the whole "Motro" storyline was added to the plot. It's based on a Pocket God video my brother made to show off the Dance Chamber update, so I'd like to acknowledge him here. I also took inspiration from a Power Rangers episode, where the pink ranger becomes a vampire.


	17. The Dance of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from last week, can our heroes escape Kyurene and Flytrap? Will Mako recover her humanity? Will Ami and Ryu get to second base? Find out here.

Mars struggled to get up and attack. "You won't get away with this!", she declared weakly.

But her opponent smiled. "I already am. Flytrap's venom has turned many of the populace into Youma under our control. When the time is right, we will awaken them and launch an attack against humanity as a whole. And I can stop you talking out against our operation, thanks to Flytrap's audio scrambling powers."

"DO YOU REALLY THINK WE'LL JUST SURRENDER LIKE THAT? YOU'RE MISTAKEN!" Mercury said, not realising she was shouting.

"You see?" Kyurene indicated her partner "He's amplified your vocal chords to constantly shout."

Then Flytrap spoke "Now let's shake things up a bit, remove your spaces and make words fit."

"OHCRAP,HESRETUNINGUSINTOSOMETHINGWORSE.WEHAVETOSTOPHIM", Jupiter strained, her transformation now worse. She had bristles on her head, feelers growing out of her cranium and her arms were turning into mandibles. Ultimately, she would end up as a humanoid locust.

"And reverse." The female moved her hand backwards.

"RETIPUJ, GNIYRT ER'EW. OD EW NAC TAHW TUB?", Mars tried to stress as best as she could.

Flytrap lifted up into the air. "Now, let's take things a bit more far. Time to bring in more co-stars." With that, the denizens of the club began turning into monstrous, animalistic beasts. One resembling a tiger jumped at the Scouts, shooting fire. Mercury and Mars barely managed to dodge in time.

"It's all over for you girls.", the Youma said, still taunting them instead of actually killing them, like a predator on the wild. Then someone threw a speaker at the woman knocking her down. Taking advantage of this distraction, Mars and Jupiter launched their attacks at her.

"ETINGI, LUOS ERIF SRAM!"

"HSARC, REDNUHT EMERPUS RETIPUJ!"

Their attacks flew threw the air and hit Kyurene dead on, destroying her. Flytrap instantly dropped down to the floor, his brain having shut down. The voices of the Sailors returned to normal.

Mercury decided to explain what had happened. "As an insect, he's dependent on a signal from a queen, who gives him orders. Since you killed his current queen, he's left without any orders, which shut down his neural impulses."

Mars was becoming impatient. "Look, lets skip the exposition and just kill him before his victims are transformed permanently." She launched another fireball and destroyed him. All his victims, Jupiter included, collapsed to the floor, the effects of the venom wearing off. Other than Mars and Mercury, there was only one other person standing; Ryo, the boy Ami had brought with them.

"Thanks for the help.", Mercury said with (false) sincerity.

"Don't thank me.", he replied, seeing through her masquerade. Then he turned towards Mars. "Be careful with who you trust.", he warned before departing. Mars was left to wonder why he left without waiting for them to "come back from the toilet", and what he meant by those words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This instalment was also based on the pocket god video, especially the whole interfering with words thing. The tiger and the locust are Easter eggs only fans of that game will understand. I included Ryo because I want to conclude the "Mercury as a double agent" plotline soon. He seemed like the best person to kickstart the end.


	18. Having a Ball.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you've read chapter 4 of the manga, or seen episode 22/18 of the anime, you'll know what's being set up this issue.

"Nephrite, present yourself."

The Brunette man walked to the front of the grand hall. "You called, Majesty?"

The queen of the Dark Kingdom smiled "Yes, Nephrite. I've noticed that when compared to your compatriots, you haven't seen much action of late. Don't worry, I'm not going to have you destroyed for inactivity. Instead, I have a task that will require your specific talents."

Nephrite was curious. "What could possibly require my services that someone else couldn't see to?"

Beryl was quick to respond. "One of our advance agents has reported that a princess is visiting the city tomorrow night to display a special crystal at a reception."

Now Nephrite knew why he had been chosen. Back in the old days, his family had been dry avid party planners. When the kingsmen of Gaia had first made contact with the people of other worlds, he had been there, as a young child. Above everyone else, he knew how to act at a formal event. "So you want me to infiltrate the event and discover if this crystal and the princess are the ones we are looking for?"

"Precisely, Nephrite. Mercury will meet you there on the night. But be warned. If this mission fails, don't expect much sympathy from me."

Nephrite nervously nodded and teleported out.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Rei Hino was waking up to another Saturday morning. Worse, she was getting up at eight-thirty in the morning. That was never good for her mood. Especially when Luna decided to drop in, after days of not talking to her. "What is it now, Luna? I'm trying to get back to sleep."

The cat sighed. "Well before you do that, might I suggest that you look at today's front page headline. It might contain a clue to our overall mission to find the princess of the Moon."

Sleepily, Rei switched on the TV (she couldn't be bothered to pick up the paper) and changed the channel to the news. The Newsreader was discussing the visit of one Princess Dia, who would be showing off her family's crown jewel, a rare crystal unlike any other in the world. Rei, now suddenly alert, turned back to Luna. "Have you told either of the others about this?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Ami who told me about it." This caught Rei's suspicions, especially after what Urawa had said at the club. "My contact says he already has an agent prepared to infiltrate the party. We shouldn't have too much to worry about.

But Rei wasn't convinced. "I don't care who's already at the party. We're going to sneak in and find the target ourselves."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of this chapter, I have written more words than I did in 10 chapters of The Road Not Taken. The only reason this hasn't happened sooner is the fact that I grossly misjudged how long the chapters actually were. I hope you enjoy and I'll see you guys later. Peace out. Bye.


	19. Ballroom Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking the phrase "wild party" to a new level.

Nephrite picked up his communication Crystal and thought about who he wanted to talk to. As expected, Mercury appeared inside the gem. 

"You called, Nephrite?", the double agent said with a bit of snark. "I heard that Queen Beryl wants us to work together on this princess task. Not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No!", the general said with his usual growl. He had never liked the Senshi, even in the old days. Back then, the only one he ever spoke to was Sailor Jupiter and she was anything but friendly with him. And as much as he wanted to gut Mercury and mount her head on his door, Beryl still had a use for her. "I just want to tell you that I know you and Jadeite are hiding something. Zoisite's death seemed very convenient for you two."

Mercury merely smiled. "I couldn't possibly comment on that. Is that all you called me for? To share your wild mass guessing over the death of the Dark Kingdom's most despised warrior?"

"No. I wanted to ask you about your "comrades". What are you going to do about them? No doubt they're going to sneak in to find out the same thing we want to know."

Again, Mercury smiled. "You'd be correct to assume that. At this moment, we're preparing to buy formal dresses so we can sneak into the gala. Once we're inside, I'll suggest we go around and mingle with the other guests to see what we can uncover. Then I'll meet up with you and we'll take an up close and personal look at the princess."

Nephrite was impressed, though he was too arrogant to say so. "Very well, I'll inform Beryl of our plan and meet you there tonight."

That night, at a grand mansion just outside the city, the party was in full swing. The richest people in Japan were in attendance, as were a few government officials and members of the press. For the girls, getting in wasn't much of an issue. Rei was the daughter of an influential politician, who was unable to attend the party. Plus, the richer guests were allowed to bring along at least 3 "plus ones", which made it easy for Makoto and Ami to get in. All of them were wearing different styles of dress. Rei was wearing a formal red ball gown, with a matching hair ribbon. Mako was wearing a green 19th century-styled dress, with a hat to compliment the look. Ami had stuck to a simple, blue Victorian-style dress.

As she had discussed with Nephrite earlier, Ami suggested that the 3 of them split off from each other and see what they could find. Mako went off towards the west wing of the mansion, where most of the common people had gathered. While there, she had her photo taken by a photographer. "Whoa, what was that for?", she asked nervously.

The photographer lowered his camera. He had black, close-cropped hair and was wearing a formal dinner suit, with glasses. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought you looked stunning in that dress. If you don't mind-"

Mako smiled nervously. "I don't mind at all. It's just a bit sudden to have my photo taken by you, Mr-?"

"Tsukino. Kenjii Tsukino.", the photographer said with a smile. "I'm here to cover this event for my editor. But I'm also taking some pictures for my daughter."

"Your daughter?"

"Yes. She's about your age. She really wanted to come here tonight, but I wasn't allowed to bring a guest, being lower class and all. So I promised to take some private pictures back for her."

Mako instantly replied "Well in that case, how about we take another picture. That last one wasn't my best."

Elsewhere, in a different part of the mansion, Rei was interacting with the richer among the guests. She briefly bumped into another man. It was Chiba from her self-defence classes. He was wearing the same formal outfit as the other male guests (except for the long-haired Brunette in the business suit), but with the addition of a cloak. He was also wearing a top hat and a domino mask. Rei noted that his scars had begun to heal, recognising them from someone else. But before she could put two and two together, she bumped into someone.

"Oh excuse me.", the other person said. Rei looked at her and saw that she was the same blue-haired girl she met at the jewellery shop. She was wearing a purple dress, very Cinderella-esque. "Oh hey, I think I've seen you before."

"Yeah, 2 weeks ago at the jewellery shop.", Rei replied. "What're you doing here?"

"Well I have a bit of a reputation as an artist, and I wanted to look at the crown jewel, so we decided to pay a visit. And you?"

"My dad's on a high-up government board, but he wasn't able to come here, so he sent me instead." Then she paused to take the other girl's words in. "Wait a minute, "we"? You're here with someone else?"

But before she could get a reply, that "someone else" came up to her. Rei recognised him as Haruka, the self-defence instructor at the youth club. He was dressed like a revolutionary-era prince, with a gold waistcoat, a white cravat and a navy jacket.

"I didn't expect to see another familiar face around here.", the blonde said to Rei. "I see you've already met my friend Michiru."

"Yes.", Rei said sheepishly. "So are you her…?"

"No, I'm not her boyfriend, Rei. But I am in a relationship."

Elsewhere, Ami met up with Nephrite. "Are you really wearing a business suit to a formal gala, Nephrite? I thought you were an expert with parties."

Nephrite was slightly annoyed. "Not with these modern parties the humans hold. Anyway, what happened to your little friends. Get thrown in the play pen?"

"Jupiter is posing for a photographer while Mars is chatting it up with some friends.", Mercury replied. "Leaving us with little resistance as we target the princess. Do we have a plan for her?"

"It's simple.", Nephrite replied. "I infect the princess with one of my posession shadows. Then I have her bring the crystal outside and give it to me. Simple, effective and with zero damage to property."

With the plan agreed upon by both parties, they set off for the Princess's chambers, unaware they were being followed by a blonde in a yellow dress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the party episode. Sorry it's so devoid of action, the next chapter should more than make up for it.


	20. Ballroom Blitzkrieg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Action ensues and secrets out. Nothing will be the same again.

In her private bedroom, Princess Dia was getting worried. In a few minutes, she would have to go out and give a speech about the family gem in front of a crowd. She would have memorised the speech, but the event had been moved forward two days without her knowing. Even worse, her body double for these situations hadn't shown up yet. If she wasn't ready soon, the job. whole event could turn out to be a disaster.

As if on cue, another girl, about the same height came into the room. The princess turned around to look at the newcomer. "Oh my, the agency did a fantastic job. You look just like me." The princess was unfortunately, short-sighted and not wearing clean glasses at the time.

"Oh really?", the other girl said with a sneer. "Sorry darling, but you need to get your glasses checked." Then Mercury dispensed the shadow that Nephrite had given her into the princess. Dia screamed, but that was soon cut off. Her skin suddenly turned a foul purple and the evil spirit inside the body now raised its new head and laughed an inhuman laugh.

"Hold it!" Mercury and the possessed princess turned around. They saw another Sailor Guardian, the same one that had thwarted their operations in London. She had blonde hair that was long and flowing. She wore a red ribbon in her hair. Her sailor uniform was an orange colour primarily. And unlike the other Sailors, she wore a red domino mask to cover her eyes.

Mercury recognised her immediately. "Ah, the infamous Sailor V, or should that be Sailor Venus?"

Venus was shocked. "How do you know who I am? Are you from the Silver Millennium too?"

"Oh yes." With that, Mercury drew out her transformation pen (or rather, the fake that Kunzite had created to brainwash her) and transformed into her Sailor uniform as well. "You see, I was one of your little gang back in the Silver Millennium. But now, I've decided to join up with the winning team." She then turned to the demon-princess. "Take care of her while I deliver the Crystal to Nephrite."

"As you wish!" The creature tried to run towards its opponent, but tripped over the princess's dress. Thinking pragmatically, it left its host and hit it's opponent with enough force to send her flying. Then it flew into the centre of the house and began draining energy from the guests.

* * *

 

In the West Wing, Makoto noticed everyone else collapsing suddenly. Realising the situation, she transformed into Sailor Jupiter and ran towards the source of the disturbance.

And in the East Wing, Rei, Haruka, Michiru and Chiba noticed the rest of the crowd were collapsing to the floor.

"I'll see if I can find a doctor.", Chiba said, running out the door.

"Rei, get to safety!", Haruka said with some urgency. She couldn't let an outsider see her or Michiru change into their Sailor Suits. Plus she enjoyed making the other girl think she was a man.

"I will.", the raven-haired girl replied, intending to use this distraction to change into Sailor Mars out of their view.

* * *

 

Soon, the four Sailor Senshi, still ironically unaware of each other's real identity, came together in the lobby.

"Hey aren't you the girls from the hospital incident?", Jupiter said to Uranus and Neptune.

"And you're the girls from the trouble at the theatre.", Uranus said back to her.

"What are you doing here this late?", Neptune asked.

"Same thing as you presumably; looking for the source of the energy drain affecting these people.", Mars replied. Then she noticed the unconscious figure lying on the floor. "Isn't that Sailor V?" They went over to her and turned her over. Her mask had fallen off, but none of them recognised her due to the disguise charm on the Senshi uniform.

"Who did this to you?", Uranus asked. The blonde merely pointed towards the ceiling. They looked up and saw that what they thought was a chandelier was actually a disembodied glow, which promptly turned into a 3-headed dragon-man.

"Now I have enough energy to take down a whole army of you miserable Scouts. You don't stand a chance." The newly formed creature declared.

"Jupiter Supreme Thunder Crash!"

"Uranus World Shaking!"

But neither attack had any effect on the monster. But Mars, Venus and Neptune had come up with an idea.

"How about we all combine our powers?"

The other two nodded in agreement. All five of them launched their respective attacks together.

"Mars Fire Soul, Ignite!"

"Neptune Deep Submerge!"

"Jupiter Supreme Thunder Crash!"

"Uranus World Shaking!"

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

The combined energy of fire, water, thunder, wind and light was too much for the creature. It's body disintegrated and the soul vapourised. In the aftermath, Venus noticed Mercury walking towards the door with the box containing the crystal and leaped to intercept her.

"Mercury," Jupiter said with shock "what're you doing with that box?"

The bluenette tried to lie her way out of the situation. "The crystal is inside the box. I was just borrowing it to check if…"

"Don't lie!", Venus snapped. "You we're going to hand the box over to Nephrite, weren't you!"

Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune were shocked to hear this revelation.

Mercury tried to bluff her way out of this situation. "Why would I hand the Crystal over to Nephrite?"

"Because you're a lying, conniving Dark Kingdom agent. My contact knows you've been one since you awakened!", Venus said unrelentingly.

"Mars, you can't believe this stranger. She's trying to frame me."

But Mars was unconvinced. "I DO believe her. I've suspected you myself for some time. You know too much about the enemy's current situation to play the innocent."

Jupiter was still in denial about this "Mercury. Ami. Say it's not true."

But Mercury had abandoned all attempts to feign innocence. "So you rumbled me. I'm one of the bad guys, rather than the fuzz. It was them who awakened me." She pulled out her pen again, only to say something different. "Dark Mercury Power, Transform!"

A black light filled the air. When it cleared, Mercury looked completely different. Her tiara had been replaced with a sapphire on her forehead, she was wearing a black shirt that exposed her arms and her midriff, her skirt was replaced with a set of black trousers and her pen had turned into a large staff.

"I am Dark Mercury, servant of the negative forces. I'll spare your lives this time, but next time I shall not be so lenient!" And then she teleported out, leaving nothing but the jewel box. The five Senshi went their separate ways, unaware they were being watched by a figure in a tuxedo, and overheard by a strange bicycle connected to the fuse box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been planning this chapter since the start of this mini-arc. I also planned to reveal that Mercury was being a double dealer around this point since I added the idea into the story. Next chapter, I'm going to make it a one-off strip to fill the gap while I think about what to do next.


	21. The World, According to Venus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of the story so far, retold from the perspective of a new character.

1 year ago.  
Minako Aino was sitting in her room. She was preparing to start on what she thought would be a simple homework assignment. Her English teacher had set her a task to compare the English version of a local television program with the original. Most of her friends were going to be doing anime, like One Piece or Kill La Kill. But Minako (Mina to everyone but her mother) had more class than that. She planned to compare an instalment of Super Sentai to its Power Rangers equivalent. She had spent the last few nights watching the Sentai version. Tonight, she would watch the American version and then write about the differences.

Halfway through the second of two episodes (Why couldn't they just keep it as a movie?, thought Minako), there was a banging on the window. Mina paused it before the battle and went to open the window. As soon as she did, a white cat jumped into the room. He (and Mina knew he was a he for… obvious reasons) had a crescent moon on his forehead.

"Whoa there, kitty. You're a feisty one, aren't you?", Mina asked, not expecting a reply.

But she got one anyway. "I'd prefer it if you refrain from addressing me as "kitty", human!"

The blonde was taken aback. "You can talk. How is that possible? Scientifically speaking, a cat's vocal chords are incapable of speech."

"An earth cat, maybe. But I am a lunarian, an advanced civilisation wiped out many years ago.", the cat said smugly. "My name is Artemis. What's yours?"

"Minako. Minako Aino. But my friends call me Mina." Then the blonde had a moment of realisation. "Did you come here specifically for me?"

"Yes.", Artemis confirmed. "I've been watching you for months, checking to see if you were the one I've been looking for."

Mina was intrigued by this statement. "And what have you determined? And what exactly are you looking for?"

"I don't think I have time to explain, considering that you seemed to be in the middle of something. So I'll just transmit the information from my memory into yours."

He looked her directly in the eye. Artemis fired a beam from his forehead at Mina's. She could see it all. She was once a princess, heir to the throne of the planet Venus. This was itself part of an empire governed from the Moon. She was chosen to join the honour guard known as the Senshi at a young age. Queen Serenity had her personally chosen as a body double for her daughter Serena, should an assassin or insurgent try to kill her. When Earth moved to join the empire, she met and subsequently fell in love with the lord Kunzite. Then when a dark force attacked and destroyed the empire, she watched as the man she loved turned on her and ran through her heart with the Legendary Blade.

Mina jerked back in shock. "Oh god, that was a painful experience, especially the second time. But how did I end up living here, as a (she paused, to think of an appropriate word) commoner?"

Artemis became dejected. "With her last breath, Queen Serenity used the Silver Crystal to seal away the dark forces and to send your entire generation, her daughter and her Prince included, to a new life on Earth. You were to be reborn around the time the dark force would likely awaken, as happened a while ago. I was sent to Earth in stasis with my partner Luna to find the Princess and the Sailors of the inner planets."

"And you've found me just now.", Mina concluded. "What about the others?"

"Luna was in charge of searching them out, but so far, she's not reported any success." Then Artemis remembered why he had come to awaken her. "With the Dark Kingdom once more active on Earth, they will set up operations to gather energy for their leader, Queen Metaria. The world needs someone to defend it from their evil machinations. That is why you must awaken your powers and defeat them for good. Any questions?"

"Yes. Is this going to be like an American superhero, or a Japanese one?"

Artemis face palmed. "Since I'm not very knowledgeable in telling the difference, I'll just say that you get elemental themed magical powers."

"You mean like Pokémon?", the blonde inquired.

"No, it's more like Bakugan.", the cat replied. Then he summoned a small ballpoint pen from out of thin air. "When there's danger , just yell "Venus Power!", and you'll be transformed. Take it for a spin."

She did. After the transformation there was a knock on the door. "Minako, turn that TV down. I'm trying to work in here."

Upon looking at her Sailor Venus attire, Mina was disappointed "Don't I get a mask?"

"The suit has a magical charm that blurs your face to prevent easy recognition." Artemis saw that she wasn't convinced by this. "But if you want, you can customise it with whatever you want before you go out in the field."

"That's good to know." Having finished up with that for the night with Artemis, she resumed watching the DVD for her assignment. "Galaxy Red!" "Galaxy Green" "Galaxy Blue!"…

"What exactly is this?", the cat enquired.

"It's an action series from America, based on a Japanese show. I have to watch it for my homework and make comparisons with the original."

"Red Ranger, rescue ready!"

2 weeks ago.  
Mina had been at this for some time now. As Artemis had suggested, she had added a mask to her uniform before making her debut. She had also become known to the public as Sailor V, due to a mishearing at her first appearance in public. She had battled evil pop stars, demonic dogs and corrupt corporate executives, all working for the Dark Kingdom. Most of her idealism that had drawn her to Artemis' attention had become jaded. While girls and pre-teens saw her as a role model, the adult populace saw her as a menace and the police had put up an arrest warrant against her for vigilantism.

Now, she was investigating a jewellery shop at the mall. Artemis' contact Luna had reported something strange at this location. Mina saw a silhouetted figure land on the roof and enter through the skylight. She looked through the window and was horrified by what she saw. The shopkeeper turned into a Youma and slashed the figure across the face. Then it dissolved into smoke and sifted through the door heading to the north. Sailor V knew she had to follow and destroy it. But first she decided to tend to the injured person.

She went inside the shop and went over to the unconscious person. It was a man, wearing a formal dinner suit, a top hat, a cloak and a domino mask, like hers, only in white instead of red. The attack had left scratches on his right cheek. The he came too. "What happened? What was that thing?", he asked.

"That was a Youma, the servants of an agency known as the Dark Kingdom. She scratched you in the cheek, probably because she thought you were here to destroy her.", Sailor V replied. "Now I'll ask you a question. What were you doing here."

The man took a breath, and then answered. "I came here to look for a jewel. A crystal, silver coloured. I heard that it had healing capabilities and thought it could help me with… (the man paused, thinking of something that wouldn't give away his identity) my own problems."

Venus knew what the man was talking about. "The Dark Kingdom are after the same thing as you are. But their intentions for it aren't as noble. They intend to use it to inflict a worse kind of pain than what they did to you."

With that, Mina ran out of the shop, just in time to see a blast of light in the distance. She saw a puff of black smoke drift up into the air. She recognised it as the death of a Youma. She knew that someone or something had destroyed it, but what?

1 week ago.  
Mina was sat in the hospital. She had come here to leave a gift for Takamoto Konishii, who had been injured in a race. But even a public place offered little respite from talking to Artemis.

"Are you sure? Another Senshi has been awakened?", she whispered to him. He had told her about Luna awakening Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter.

"Yes, but something's not right.", the cat whispered back. "The Mercury Pen hasn't been removed from the sub space dimension it was stored in, yet apparently she had it with her. And Luna said that Mercury destroyed the Youma that Mars was fighting, but I remember that Mercury didn't have a basic offensive attack."

"You think she's a fake?", Mina asked.

"No, she's definitely the real deal. I had her scanned. I think-"

But before he could continue, there was a crash. Mina saw a metal man break out of Takamoto's room. Mina realised who it was when a man dressed in a Dark Kingdom uniform walked out of the hole it left. She watched as a blue-haired Sailor that she didn't recognise appeared to fight the thing that was Takamoto. And then as it did something to a nurse before making a getaway. Mina tried to give chase, but the Youma turned into a motorcycle Transformers-style, with the Dark agent riding on the back. With one threat beyond her reach, Mina decided to stop the other.

But before she could, she saw a blonde haired girl in a tracksuit run out the door and behind the building. Curious, Mina decided to follow her. She saw as the girl pulled out a pen and cried out.

"Uranus Planet Power, Make Up!"

Mina watched as the girl became another Senshi that she didn't recognise, probably Sailor Uranus. She then turned on her communicator and talked to Artemis. "Why didn't you tell me there were more Scouts than just Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter?"

"In all honesty, it was out of my jurisdiction.", the cat replied. "There were four others at the time of the fall, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Pluto survived the destruction due to being on another mission. While the other three's pens were entrusted to another agent, the same one who provided us with the sub space pocket. As such, I can't be aware if they get awakened."

As they were talking , Uranus leaped away and entered the hospital. Mina ran to catch up to her, getting there just in time to see the two Senshi win the fight and walk off together. She reported this to Artemis, adding "I think those two must know each other."

Today.  
Mina walked out of the house, having changed back into her yellow ball gown. She hated having to do that to her allies, but they had to know the truth. She decided to check in with Artemis "The mission was a bust. It wasn't the Crystal after all. But i did expose Mercury as an agent."

"And how did they take it?", Artemis' voice on the other end responded.

"Mars was willing to believe it, due to being suspicious for a while now. Jupiter on the other hand, is in denial."

"That's understandable. Makoto is someone who has few friends, which makes her less willing to accept that whatever relationship they had was a lie."

"About that," Mina asked "is it possible to break the brainwashing?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. We just have to get the real transformation pen to her and break the fake one.", Artemis said back.

"But how will we find her to do that?"

"I believe I can help with that." Mina jerked up, shocked to hear another voice. Turning in the direction she heard it coming from, she only saw a strange motorcycle…

To Be Continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it, the origin and partial history of Sailor Venus. The main story will continue next time.
> 
> The episode of Power Rangers she's watching is "Trakeena's Revenge" from Lightspeed Rescue.


	22. Showdown Part 1: The Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The build up to the end of another enemy begins here.

Mina was surprised. Rather than a person, the voice she had heard seemed to come from the cycle in front of her. There was no-one else it could have come from. Suspicious, she went over to the vehicle and touched it lightly, checking to see if there was a radio or a recording device on the body. As she did this, there was a flash that blotted everything else out with light. When it cleared, she was back in her bedroom at her home, which startled Artemis.

"What is going on here?", the white Lunarian asked, confused.

"I can answer that.", the same voice echoed. Mina and Artemis watched as the bike shifted it's frame. The front wheel retracted and turned into a set of hands, with the front half splitting into a pair of arms. The back half unfolded into a pair of legs, on which the figure now stood. Finally, the handlebars tucked into the front shield, which now formed the head. Mina now recognised it as the metal man from the hospital.

"My name is Motro. And we need to talk."

* * *

 

Meanwhile, back at the Dark Kingdom, Mercury stormed into Jadeite's quarters in a huff.

"What's wrong, Lunarian got your tongue?", the Shittenou said, semi-mockingly.

"That blasted Sailor V blew my cover as a double-agent. In addition, Nephrite suspects that we had something to do with Zoisite's "unfortunate demise".", Mercury replied. "Now Beryl says I need to destroy the Saior Senshi or I'll be destroyed."

"I think I know who you want to start with.", Jadeite said, a sinister tone in his voice.

"Indeed.", Mercury said back "Sailor V, or should I say, Sailor Venus."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'd recognise her aura anywhere. And I've already been tracking her for a while. In fact, ever since Motro and Zoisite stole the hospital records." She pulled out a small tablet with the Mercury symbol on it. "Luna gave me this while I was undercover. It contains physiological profiles for all the Sailor Scouts and the Princess Serena. I compared it with the data taken from the hospital and found a match: Minako Aino, known to her friends as Mina."

"And what did you do with this information, then?", asked Jadeite.

"I asked my mother.", the bluenette replied. "She's a doctor at the hospital and knows some of the patients' addresses. When I found this out, I sent your servant Kigaan in to do an infiltration."

"So you intend to have Kigaan terminate her?"

"No, no. Quite the opposite. I intend to lure Venus and the others into a confrontation tomorrow night. Then I shall destroy them all"

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Motro had finally convinced Mina and Artemis to hear him out "I, like most of Beryl's Youma, was once a human. But I lost that when Zoisite recruited me to aid him in his task. But, due to machinery lodged in my body at the time of my conversion, I retained my humanity. I saw that the Dark Kingdom would do the same to other innocents as they did to me. So I split off to take them down."

"Why hasn't Zoisite punished you for your betrayal?", Artemis asked.

"I and a few of his detractors within the Dark Kingdom, including General Jadeite, had him taken out and the blame for it placed on your friends Mars and Jupiter. The other generals assume me deceased following the incident at the theatre."

"What was Zoisite's mission?", the cat inquired.

"He was to find and awaken the 7 Great Shadows."

"But weren't they destroyed"?"

At that, the cyborg lost his patience. "You need to stop asking questions before I give in to my urges and destroy you!" And hen he regained his composure. "They weren't destroyed, they were merely imprisoned. The Silver Imperium Crystal was turned into a house for them, and then split into seven separate Rainbow Crystals. They were later reincarnated as humans throughout the various ages of Earth, and shall continue to do so until the crystals are removed. One has already been located and turned."

"Of course!", Mina said, speaking for the first time in a while. "That's what happened to Mars' grandfather, the old monk."

"So Sailor Mars is the grandchild of Shadow Warrior Ijii? Interesting.", Motro said, making sure to save this data in his memory banks.

But before their conversation could continue, the door creaked open. It was Mrs. Aino, Mina's mother. "Minako, you should be asleep. It's 11:30 PM."

Mina noticed that her mother didn't seem concerned about the robot standing in the room. So she spoke to that robot now. "Motro, is that my real mother?"

The cyborg replied. "Negative. I am reading a strong dark energy pulse from her. She's a Youma that has possessed or replaced your real mother for infiltration purposes."

The sound of a slow clap filled the air. "So the metal man can see through our little deception. Whoop-de-do." The source of the voice stepped out from behind the Youma pretending to be Mrs. Aino. To Mina's shock, it was Mercury, in her "Dark Mercury" get-up. "Hello Mina, or should I say "Sailor Venus."

Venus was shocked. "How did you know who I was? Or where I lived?"

Oh, it's quite simple.", Mercury answered. "My mother is a doctor at the hospital. You've been in there a few times in the past year for "severe injuries". Sustained during your battles with my allies, I assume."

"We're your allies.", Mina snapped back. "They've got you brainwashed into another one of their psychos."

"On the contrary, I'm perfectly in posession of all my mental faculties.", her adversary replied. "But relax, I'm not here to kill you. Your metal friend here on the other hand…"

With that, she summoned her staff and pointed it at Motro. Black waves of energy flew from him, but at the end nothing seemed to have happened to him.

"You fool.", the Cybernetic man declared. "You forgot that when I was converted, parts of my bike's computer were lodged in me and upgraded by the Dark power. My affliction is more technological than magical." With that, he summoned his cannon, blasted a hole in the wall and jumped out, vanishing into the night.

The Youma disguised as Mrs. Aino assumed her true appearance, a disheveled, yellow-skinned woman with red hair, as opposed to her disguise's greying brown hair. "Should, I pursue him, mistress?"

"No!", Mercury snapped. "We'll deal with him another time. But for now, I should make use of this energy." She then used her staff to channel it into the nearby fish tank. Mina's two goldfish, John and Phil, were mutated into another Youma, one with two distinctly coloured heads.

"What do you want from me?", Venus demanded. "Where's my mum?"

"She's fine, don't worry.", her adversary replied. "But to ensure she stays that way, you have to bring your fellow Sailors to the MagLev train station nearby, tomorrow night at sundown. We'll be waiting." With that, she and her allies vanished in a flash and a puff of smoke.

"What do we do, Mina?", Artemis asked. "We can't just not show up."

"It's simple, Artemis.", the blonde said confidently. "We have to find the other Senshi. This ends tomorrow night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the first part of the next storyline. It will conclude in chapter 24, with a death and a change.
> 
> Mina's goldfish are named after a pair I had when I was younger.


	23. Showdown Part 2: The Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sailor Venus gathers the Senshi for the final showdown with Dark Mercury and Jadeite.

The little girl walked over to the clock shop. It was for a special reason. The shop was selling its merchandise at a cheaper price than most of the other places. So she had decided to ask her daddy if she could buy one. She was overjoyed when he said yes. He very rarely took time off from his work to pay attention to her. So now, she had gone to the mall and located the shop.

But before she had a chance to properly look around, one of the girls in Sailor suits that the other kids had been talking about (not with her, of course. She was just a freak to them) burst in and started yelling something. She couldn't quite make it out, but it seemed to be some kind of vendetta. Then the shopkeeper turned into something resembling an evil clown, with blue hair. She pulled out some kind of staff and shot a light from it at the other girl, who in turn fired electricity at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper then went over to the little girl and grabbed her. "Any closer and I'll blow this human to dust.", she said. But before she could do anything else, the girl's eyes turned bright red and a blast of intense light knocked the creature back.

* * *

 

Sailor Jupiter was confused by what she had just seen. That little girl had managed to knock the Youma she was fighting to the floor, knocking herself out in the process. This was as good a time as any to finish it off. "Jupiter Supreme Thunder Crash!" One shot and the Youma was dust.

"A very impressive defeat.", another voice commented. Jupiter turned around to see the source of the voice: Sailor Venus. "I have to admit, you've been busy this last day. You've taken down Youma at a radio station, a gym and now a clock shop. You must be mad about Mercury's betrayal."

"What do you want?", the Brunette asked.

"I need your help.", Venus replied. "Mercury had my mum abducted last night. She says that she'll kill her unless I can get all the active Senshi to meet her at the train yard tonight. Which is why I need you to get Mars to help as well."

"I'll see what I can do.", Jupiter said in response. "You'll have to get those other two from last night on your own though."

"Don't worry," the blonde said with a wink "I think I know where to look."

* * *

 

Meanwhile, at a highly secure, secret location, a pair of scientists were working on their patient. She was a nurse at the Juuban hospital. Or rather she had been before a robot had done something to her, mutating her into a freak. That was the same day Takamoto Konishii had disappeared. Now, she had been transported here so they could find a way to reverse her transformation. But what they had found was astonishing.

"It's unusual.", the lead scientist declared. "This woman has very clearly changed in the appearance and bone structure. But her DNA hasn't been inconsistent with usual human DNA."

"What could have affected her?", asked his assistant.

Suddenly, the door exploded and two figures walked in. One was mostly metallic, gender indeterminate, while the other was clearly female, but she had blue skin and a megaphone and clipboard for hands. The metal one's "skirt" turned into an arm cannon, which vaporised the lead scientist. His assistant tried to sound the alarm, but the woman shot a strip of film from her head that pierced his heart.

"It's lucky for us that you managed to find this place.", Motro said. "Now Director, we shall free our comrade from her confinement." Following which he blasted the lock to the cell she was kept in.

"What do you want with me?", the nurse demanded.

"Your help in saving the world from evil.", the cyborg said.

* * *

 

At a small apartment block on the edge of the city, a blonde was packing boxes. She was saying goodbye to her apartment and moving in with a friend. Haruka Tenoh could still remember when her parents bought her this place, to help her focus on her studies without her brother's interference. Since then, she had found love that many people would condemn. But her parents had been supportive and allowed them to move into a penthouse together.

"Excuse me?" Haruka turned around to the source of the voice. It was a girl, two year her junior. Haruka assumed she was just a fan at first, come here to get an autograph.

"Look kiddo, I may be a racer, but I'm not exactly one to make a big deal out of-". But before she could continue, the other girl pulled out a pen with a sphere that had an alchemical symbol on it. "Oh, I see. Are you trying to start a friendship? Because if so, I'm not interested."

"I didn't come here for a social visit. I have an emergency. My mother's going to die-"

"My condolences.", Haruka interrupted, desperate to end this conversation as soon as possible.

"No you don't understand.", the other girl said. "She's going to die unless I can get you and your friend to show up for a fight at the train yard tonight."

"Ah, so she's a hostage.", Haruka said, understanding the situation. "I'll see if we can be there by 7." And then she decided to ask a question of her own. "Just how did you figure out I was a Senshi?"

But all the other girl said was "I did my homework."

* * *

 

At the train yard, Mercury was making the final preparations for the upcoming showdown. She had the goldfish Youma (now named Daburu Pisces) tie Mrs. Aino to the wall. Jadeite had lent her the use of his four surviving servants, Balm, Iguara, Kigaan and Garoben. In addition, she had been given use of Titus, one of Queen Beryl's elite.

"You won't get away with this!", the captive woman yelled. "Someone will stop you, you horrible people."

Daburu Pisces' 2 heads both had something to say. His white head blubbered "Oh god, what if she's right? What if we are going to die?". But his orange head was growling "Oh my god, can someone shut her up? She's being annoying."

"It looks like we're going to need better help than this, my dear.", Titus suggested to Mercury. Taking the hint, she pointed her staff at a homeless man, playing the violin and sitting on the car. This created at least 3 new warriors to fight for them; a man made entirely of soil, a Picasso-esque man, made of wood, dressed in 17th century garb, and a woman with wheels on her shoulders and legs, dressed as a racer.

"These will suffice.", Mercury stated, preparing for the inevitable destruction of the Sailors and the victory of the Dark Kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So today was the set-up, next time is the actual fight itself.


	24. Showdown Part 3: The Final Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their forces assembled, Venus and Mercury prepare for a final showdown.

Jadeite was working on something, when Kunzite walked in unannounced.

"What do you want?", the blonde-haired man asked with more than a little visible irritation.

"Queen Beryl has a mission for you.", the white haired man answered. "She wants you to go and aid Mercury at the battle tonight."

Jadeite was taken aback. "Why me? Surely you should go and help her. She was, after all, your idea."

"But the Youma aiding her work for you.", Kunzite responded. "And besides, if you don't, then I'll reveal your little secret to everyone in this kingdom."

To illustrate his point, he pulled out a recording device from his cloak. When it played, the voice was a metallic like pitch that Jadeite recognised as his former ally Motro. "Zoisite was becoming an annoyance to everyone in the Dark Kingdom, so myself and General Jadeite arranged to have him taken out and blame it on the Sailor Senshi."

Jadeite was shocked. "How did you get this?", he demanded to know.

"I had a recording device installed in Mercury's staff for use in the field. She found Motro discussing important information with Sailor Venus. This was part of their conversation."

With that, Jadeite gave in. "Alright, I'll go. But if I succeed, you must destroy that recording."

As his ally teleported away, Kunzite smiled "We shall see, my friend."

* * *

 

At the train yard, Mercury and her soldiers were finishing their preparations. The entire area had been modified to give them the advantage in the fight. Venus' mother was bound to a wall, as the 10 warriors were centred around that wall to prevent their enemies from reaching it.

As if on cue, 5 figures jumped in from seemingly nowhere. Mercury knew instantly that these were were the Sailor Scouts that were presently awakened. "So I see that Venus got you losers to come here after all.", she said with a mocking tone of voice.

"We came because some of us know what it's like to lose a parent.", Jupiter declared.

"We're not going to let another child lose their mother because of a selfish feud.", cried Mars.

"Especially not a little punk like you.", added Neptune.

Daburu Pisces was simultaneously worried and overconfident. "Oh god, they sound serious. We might lose this fight." "Please, its 9 of us against 5 of them. They don't stand a chance."

"There may only be 5 of us, but we can still take down you creeps.", declared Uranus.

"How about 8 of us?", another voice rang out. Everyone turned to the source. It was the mysterious Tuxedo Mask, accompanied by Artemis and another Senshi with muted green hair.

"8 of you? The more the bloodier.", said the man made of soil, now dubbed the Dirt Monger.

"Who're you?", Venus and Mars both asked the green-haired newcomer.

"All you need to know is that I'm here to help when I'm needed.", she said before charging towards the red-skinned Youma to engage it in battle.

Artemis leaped forward to engage Daburu Pisces. "You silly creature, do you really think a cat can beat a full sized monster like me?", the creature sneered.

"Maybe not like this," Artemis said "but I can take you down." Then, his tattoo began glowing, he span around 9 times and turned into a humanoid male, dressed in white with long hair. "Now I can take you on.", he said.

"Oh crud.", the fish managed to splurge before Artemis gave him a very brutal beat down. Elsewhere, Venus came face to face with Mercury.

"I have to admit, when I was sent to spy on the Scouts, I didn't expect you to come along and ruin it.", Mercury admitted. "But now I'm going to remove your interference. Permanently."

With that, she pointed her staff at her opponent, firing blasts of energy. Venus dodged with incredible agility, before aiming her hand at the weapon, crying "Venus Crescent Beam, Smash!" The staff was knocked out of Mercury's hands, causing her to be pushed back onto the floor. "Mars, destroy that staff, now!", Venus shouted.

"Can do.", Mars replied. She turned away from her opponent - the one with the yellow skin - and launched a fireball at the staff, burning it to ash.

Elsewhere, Daburu Pisces and the three Youma that had been created for the fight reverted to their original forms. The homeless man quickly fled, scared for his life.

With the destruction of the staff, things began to turn around for the Senshi, Venus destroyed Balm, Uranus killed Titus, Jupiter took out Iguara and Mars incinerated Kigaan. That just left Garoben, the Youma that had attacked the cram school. Before any of them could make a move towards her, Ami got herself up and held up her transformation pen.

"You turned me into a puppet.", the girl said angrily. "You forced me to betray my duties as one of the, for your own selfish ends." A blue aura began to surround her. "Worst of all, you forced me to be an accessory to the potential death of innocent people. I won't allow you to walk away this time." As she said this, her pen transformed into a more elaborate version, with a star shape surrounding the Orb on top.

Everyone watching was shocked, especially Artemis. "Could it be? Star Power?"

The energy caused Ami to turn onto Sailor Mercury, the real one this time. "Shine Aqua Illusion!", she cried. The blast caused the Youma to turn to ice and shatter. "This time, you're gone for good.", the bluenette said definitively.

* * *

 

A few minutes later, things had quieted down, Tuxedo Mask and the majority of the Senshi had vanished and Artemis had turned back into his cat form. Now he was explaining some things to those that remained, Namely Venus and Mars. Jupiter had taken Mercury home.

"So you're saying that your species can turn into a human appearance if you choose to do so?", Mars said, having trouble just comprehending that there was another cat like Luna, who had been disappearing for days at a time to "take care of business".

"Yes, but it needs a constant concentration to maintain, otherwise it can be very exhausting.", the white cat replied.

"And this Star Power. How can we unlock this?", asked Sailor Venus.

"You need to have a total concentration on doing something pure, like how Mercury's purity came from her desire to see justice done to that Youma."

But before he could elaborate, a slew of icicles flew down, followed soon after by the one that threw them. Jadeite.

"Ah if it isn't the lovely Sailor Mars and the elusive Sailor Venus.", he said with a faux happiness. "You may have destroyed my servants, but I shall take you both down."

But both Mars and Venus were getting tired at this point, so they simply launched their attacks at him, severing his left arm and knocking him into the sea. After remaining a few minutes to make sure he was deceased, the two girls went their separate ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been planning for this chapter ever since I had Mercury outed as a double agent. I intended to have the brainwashing be broken around halfway through the story.
> 
> I moved the site of Jadeite's final stand to a train yard both to remove connotations of terrorism and to make it seem like it could be staged in real life. I also apologise for his abrupt death, since I couldn't figure out how to incorporate him into the fight.
> 
> And on a final note, the little girl from the previous chapter. I may not have referred to her by name, but you can probably guess who it is based on the description.
> 
> Next time, the character who you've probably been waiting for since the start of the overall story shows up.


	25. Taking A Breather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto makes a new start at a new school, in the process making a new friend who will play a big role in the future.

Makoto had carried the injured Ami back to her apartment to recover. To cover her absence, Ami called her mother and told her she was spending the night at a friend's house. Mrs. Anderson relented in this case, because she was pleased to see that her daughter had finally made a friend. As the two girls were settling down, Luna came in through an open window.

"Artemis told me you'd be here.", the celestial cat Guardian began. "What happened at the fight?"

"Well to start with," Mako began "We managed to break the Dark Kingdom's hold over Mercury."

"That's excellent news.", Luna replied. "But we probably could have avoided this mess if I wasn't suffering from amnesia."

"And then it got really weird.", the Brunette continued. "Mercury somehow called upon this weird light and then she destroyed a Youma by freezing it."

"I don't know what it was either.", Ami chimed in, speaking for the first time in a few minutes. "I just felt this desire to see that monster stopped before she could do anymore harm. Then I just felt the power coming to me, giving me the strength I needed to make that happen.

"I think I remember something like that.", Luna said in response. "If a Sailor Guardian expressed a strong enough desire, then they could call upon more energy and receive what you would call "an upgrade"."

"Could this happen more than once."

"I don't know for sure.", was all that the cat had to say. "I do recall stories of some reaching a level of power known as "Eternal Sailor" form, but it was a generation prior to my time. Not nearly long enough ago for me to be schooled on…"

Then Makoto had a realisation. "Oh god, I'm supposed to start at my new school tomorrow. I need to get to sleep."

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Nephrite and Kunzite had met at a restaurant for a discussion.

"Oh dear.", the silver haired man said. "It appears that for all your wealth, you couldn't make us a reservation.

Nephrite went over to a table for two and threw the occupants on the floor. "There's been a cancellation.", he said sarcastically. After the two men had sat down, Nephrite asked the question that was on his mind. "What did you call me here to talk about?"

"This is purely a business matter.", Kunzite replied. "With Zoisite dead and Jadeite MIA, we're the only ones left who can deal with Beryl's demands."

"By that, I take it you mean gathering energy, recovering the shadow warriors and dealing with the Sailors.", Nephrite retorted. "It's probably going to get worse now that Mercury has, as the humans say, pulled a heel-face turn."

"It gets worse.", Kunzite interrupted. "Mercury managed to progress to level 2 of her Sailor power. How long before the others reach the same level of power. We need to awaken the Shadow Warriors before they do, so we can locate and destroy the Princess Serena."

"You have nothing to worry about, my friend.", Nephrite said pulling a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. "I've located another crystal carrier, in the city for a few more days." He put the paper down. It was a photograph of a woman, in her mid-20's with brown hair.

"She's a looker.", Kunzite said before straightening his composure. "Where did you get this picture?"

"Let's just say I have a friend at a circus with a very good camera.", was Nephrite's reply. "I've predicted she'll be in the park tomorrow. That's when I'll get her."

* * *

 

The next day, Makoto had a very good start to her new school. As it turned out, Ami had been going to the same school she was starting at since just before the half-term break. As such, she had a guide to help her around the school.

To start off, the bluenette gave out some basic information on the various pupils. "The boy with the glasses that make his eyes like like spirals is Gurio Umino, the second smartest person in this class, besides me of course. The girl with the brown hair talking to him is Naru Osaka, daughter of the jewellery shop's owner." As she went to indicate her next target, Ami paused. Said target was a blonde girl, with unusually long ponytails, who seemed to be in a huff.

"I'm guessing something's not normal with that girl.", Mako suggested.

"You'd be correct.", her friend replied. "That's Usagi Tsukino, the ultimate example of the dumb blonde stereotype. She's not usually this glum, even after most of her poor test scores."

The girl Usagi had heard them talking and came over to them. "Do you really want to know what's wrong with me?", she asked.

"Kind of.", the other two girls said in response.

"Well ok then.", the blonde sighed. "My parents were out last night, having a celebration of the fact that a lot of the crazy stuff that's been plaguing the city has stopped."

Mako winked to Ami, knowing that they were both partially responsible for the end of it.

"But then this jerk comes along", Usagi continued "and pushes them off their table, so he can have a meeting with his boyfriend or something."

"That's a slightly homophobic interpretation.", was Ami's reply.

"Well, based on the description my dad provided, they obviously weren't business partners.", was all Usagi had to say. "Anyway, I'm not sure how to get over it, especially since I'm seeing a friend this afternoon."

"A friend?"

"Yeah. Her names Reika Nishimura. We met through the guy at the juice bar at the crown. She's a bit of a role model."

Ami was slightly concerned about what the blonde had just said. "Well excuse us Usagi, but I think we should be sitting down now.", she said dragging Mako away. Once they were out of earshot, Mako decided to let loose.

"What are you doing?", she hissed quietly.

"That name she said. "Reika Nishimura". I know it."

"How?", her friend replied.

"When I was working for Queen Beryl, she had me go over some stolen medical records to search for people who matched the crystal carriers. Her name was one of them."

"So what do we do?"

"After school, we follow her and see if one of the Shittenou attacks her. If that happens, we leap in and intercept." With that settled, Ami ushered her friend to sit down as the class began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, a generation is 25 years.
> 
> And yes, those people Nephrite kicks off their table are Usagi's parents.


	26. Extraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rape subtext, stalking, lampshade hanging; this chapter has it all.

In an empty hall in the Juuban Junior High School building, one girl was taking photographs of another. The photographer was Saki Itabashi, an aspiring photography student. The other girl was Lily Temple, star of the girl's softball team. Saki was using a camera she had been given by a strange man with what resembled a disorganised mullet earlier that day. Since then, she had gone looking for things she felt worthy of having their picture taken. And a junior high schooler with Olympic potential was definitely high on the list.

"Can we get this over with, Saki?", Lily asked, somewhat exhausted. She had long green hair and was dressed in the same school "sailor" uniform as the other girls at the school. "I'm getting sweaty just standing around. I do have an image to maintain."

"Just a few more.", the other girl replied. She, on the other hand, was dressed more casually, with a red shirt, a denim jacket and a baseball cap. "I'm not sure I've got your best side yet."

But then, before she could ever be sure, a large metal figure burst through the roof. He turned towards Lily and pointed his hand out. The girl collapsed, a oval-shaped, gold object emerging from her head.

"What are you?", Saki Itabashi cried out, barely registering the fact that her camera pulled itself out of her hand and began to change into something else.

"Someone looking for unique talent.", was the only response she received. "I'm also someone who can't have any witnesses…"

* * *

 

Elsewhere, in an abandoned house upon the hill, Nephrite was preparing to begin his assault on Miss Reika Nishimura, when a Youma jumped over the railing to land next to him. This was Cameran, one of his personal servants. His plan for gathing energy was to transmute his servants into a symbol, which would then be implanted on an object of importance to his selected target. Once the individual had reached their maximum energy peak, the Youma would absorb it, turn the object into a body and bring it back to Nephrite.

"What are you doing back here so soon?", Nephrite snarled. He wasn't expecting one to be back for at least another day. And that was another Youma he had planted in a tennis racket.

"I got interrupted, boss.", was all Cameran had to say in response. "Motro appeared and caused the girl to generate large amounts of energy through sheer terror."

"So he still wants to make our mission as difficult as possible.", Nephrite pondered. Then he said "Well I'll have you come with me then. I could use some help in keeping those Sailors from docking at my port of call."

* * *

 

But little did Nephrite know, at that moment, at least two of them were near where he intended to go. Namely Ami Anderson,aka Sailor Mercury, and Makoto Kino, aka Sailor Jupiter. They were spying on their classmates as she spoke with a much older woman, who some would say was the physical embodiment of glamour.

"Can you tell what they're saying?", Mako whispered to her friend.

"They're not out of hearing range, you know.", Ami whispered back. "And keep your voice down; Usagi might hear us, decide to investigate and recognise us."

"Would she really recognise me? I mean we've only met once."

"Your uniform isn't exactly inconspicuous.", Ami whispered back. "You're literally the only attendee of Juuban Junior High school to wear a lace up frock with a grey collar."

"Well I can't help that they don't provide a uniform in my size.", Mako hissed back.

But as they were arguing, they didn't notice a brown-haired man in the grey uniform of the enemy, accompanied by a woman with blue-grey skin accost their quarry.

"Who are you?", Usagi shrieked. "What do you-" but she was silenced before she could continue.

"Thank you, Cameran. I just can't stand to hear a child whining.", Nephrite said. Then he turned to Reika. "Now then, I can have my way with you without distractions."

"No please. Let me go!", Reika cried "I'll give you anything you want."

"You are giving me what I want." With that, Nephrite pulled out a large black diamond from his tunic, and began reciting an incantation in an unknown language. Everyone present, even the unknown observers could only watch as the woman screamed, an orange gem emerging from her chest.

"Yes. Yes. GIVE IT TO ME, WOMAN!"

But before he could reach out and grab it, a rose zoomed down and knocked his hand away. Everyone turned to look towards the source of the disturbance. Everyone except Ami and Mako, who took this opportunity to transform into Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter. But both Usagi and Nephrite were surprised by the attacker. A young man in a domino mask, a formal tuxedo, a black cloak and a top hat.

"Oh great, what are you doing here?", Nephrite asked. "The opera only opens on Sundays."

"As a matter of fact, I'm here for that Crystal.", the newcomer declared. "Then he turned to the other person at the scene. "Little girl, get out of here. Now!"

"Um, right.", Usagi said, preparing to make a dash for it. But as she did she was stopped by her friend. Reika was now turning into something else entirely, like Rei's Grandpa had over 8 days previously. Her hair fell out, barring a small patch that turned yellow with an orange streak. Her clothes burned off, leaving nothing but a short leather outfit with no straps, legs or sleeves. Finally, the woman's skin turned olive green and she put a monocle over her left eye. Usagi fainted from the horror of what she had just seen.

"Shadow Warrior Techniclon, reporting for duty, sir!", the thing that used to be Reika declared. "What are your orders?"

"This girl has seen too much of our operation here.", Nephrite answered, indicating the prone teenager. "It's beyond my power to erase this from her memory. She must be destroyed. Kill her!"

"As you wish.", Techniclon said, conjuring a dagger and raising it for the final blow. But before she could deliver, a blast of electricity knocked it out of her hands, frustrating her. "Who was that?"

"That would be me." Everyone turned towards the source of the voice. It was Sailors Jupiter and Mercury.

"Curses.", Nephrite growled. "Techniclon, go back to the Dark Kingdom for now. Cameran, stay here and deal with these two. I'll get the crystal."

But as he overpowered his adversary and made for the Crystal, he was knocked over by another figure. This one was also female, but with pink skin, wearing a baseball helmet and a leather suit, with a set of volleyballs for breasts.

"Its an interception at the goalposts, as Sailor Leaguer knocks the away team to the ground.", shouted the figure so loud that anyone could hear. Thankfully, few were around to hear her. Then another figure, with green skin, amphibious eyes and a sleeveless hood jumped down and picked up the crystal.

"Now that's what I, the great Sailor Gekisha call a photo finish!", declared the new figure.

"Now let's pass this ball to the captain before this guy gives us a red card.", Sailor Leaguer said to her partner. The two of them leaped away, with the smartly-dressed figure chasing after them.

"Oh never mind, we still have one crystal.", Nephrite grunted, before teleporting out with his acquisition.

"Well now it's just you two against me.", the Youma smiled.

"Make that three.", another voice cried out. Cameran turned to see Sailor Venus leap onto the scene. "I'm not going to let you hurt my comrades, or anyone else on this planet. I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I will stop you."

With that, a beam of light shone down from the sky, similar to the one that Mercury had inadvertently called yesterday. "Venus Star Power!" The aura surrounded Venus, who pointed her hand at her opponent.

"Venus Love Chain, Encircle!" A string of hearts, composed of light shot through the air at the creature, causing it to explode into fragments. Then, Venus turned to Jupiter and Mercury. "You're lucky I was on the area when I was. We need to take that girl home."

But as Jupiter went over to Usagi, she was shocked by what she saw. A yellow crescent, identical to those of Luna and Artemis on the girl's forehead.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, in the mansion on the hills, Nephrite and Techniclon were opening a conference call to communicate with Queen Beryl. Both were shocked when instead they were met with another voice.

"Greetings, My Disciples! It Is I, Queen Metaria!"

"You are awake, oh great one?", Nephrite said with a rare display of shock.

"Yes Nephrite! Events Have Escalated To The Point Where I Have Reasons to Awaken!"

"Escalated how, great one.", asked the Shadow Warrior.

"Your Altercation At The Park Has Caused The Princess Of The Moon To Be Revealed! You Must Collect More Energy, So That I May Escape This Cocoon And Exact My Revenge!", the entity hissed before vanishing.

"The Princess Serena has awakened because of the altercation. But who could it-?", Nephrite pondered, having a moment of realisation mid-sentence. "The girl I told you to eliminate. It must be her."

"Don't worry, General," Techniclon said, transforming into a form resembling Reika Nishimura "I'll ensure that your orders are carried out."

* * *

 

Elsewhere in an abandoned warehouse, Motro was admiring the prize his new underlings had retrieved for him. "Both of you have done well."

"So does that mean I'm player of the match?", Sailor Leaguer asked rhetorically.

"We should take a picture of this moment. It'll last longer.", Sailor Geshika quipped.

"I have to admit, for a pair of up and coming stars, you two have potential.", Sailor Director said to her new teammates.

"But we still have the poxes of the Sailors and the Dark Kingdom infecting our plans.", Sailor Medicine pointed out.

"Don't worry.", Motro said with an invisible smile. "I have accounted for both these problems. Very soon, the Sailor Scouts are going to see me again. Little will they realise that they will be falling into my deadliest trap yet!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last chapter for a while, since I will be unable to work on it as regularly. However, I will be continuing with The Road Not Taken, which can be read elsewhere on this site.
> 
> Lily Temple is my version of the girl who becomes Sailor Leaguer in the anime. I just changed her name for simplicity's sake. I looked up what the original name meant and found appropriate words for a name change.


	27. The Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haruka encounters an old acquaintance. But can he be trusted.

Haruka finished packaging her few possessions into the last box. Tonight would be her last night in this old apartment. Then she would begin her new life with Michiru. Hopefully, that Venus girl would probably be unaware of this, in case she decided to show up asking for help again. Not that Haruka minded being asked, she just wished she knew how to contact the girl without using unorthodox methods.

Then, she heard a loud thud against the door. "Who could that be?", she asked herself as she went to investigate. If this was Sailor Venus asking for help again, she'd just give her a phone number. But it wasn't Venus at all. It was Takamoto, her former rival turned killer robot. But now he seemed to be back to normal. "Help me.", he wheezed out before collapsing.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Sailors Venus, Mercury and Jupiter had picked up the unconscious Usagi and taken her back to her house. They had de-transformed before telling her mother that they were friends from school (which technically, two of them were) and that they were helping her into bed after she had fainted. Mrs. Tsukino was quick to accept this story, as she was heading out to get ice cream when they arrived. The three girls, Minako Aino, Ami Anderson and Makoto Kino, lifted the 4th upstairs to her bedroom (which was no mean feat, given Usagi's weight), which looked as if it desperately needed someone to come through it with a broom. Once their newly revealed princess was in bed, Mina and Ami called their respective mentors (Artemis and Luna) to update them on this fact. Both said that they would check to see what the precedent for this situation was. After both calls ended, Mako finally spoke.

"Okay, I was not expecting to find out the princess was the school's lovable ditz."

"To be honest, neither was I.", Ami responded. "But I think unlikely candidates are the least of our concerns at the moment." She turned and indicated for Mina to speak.

"Right!", the blonde said in response. "If the enemy is aware of this, then they're definitely going to send an assassin. Probably one of the two Shadow Warriors they've already located."

As if on cue, a hooded figure jumped through the window, smashing it into pieces. Thankfully, the girls were the only people in the house, as Usagi's brother was at a friend's house and her father was at work until 9PM. Mako went over to pinch the figure, only to hurt her hand upon impact. The figure pulled its cloak off, exposing a mechanical menace. Mako was shocked. "A Youma made of metal?"

"That's not Youma.", Ami said in a matter-of-fact voice. "I know what their essence feels like and this thing isn't giving off an essence at all."

"You mean it's a robot? Like the Krybots or the Grinders?", Mina said with a mixture of shock and excitement at the prospect of fighting a robot. But before she could get a reply, more and more of them jumped into the room, surrounding the three girls.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, at the temple, Rei Hino was preparing to go out and accompany Luna on her trip to behold the Moon Princess. "Are you sure you want me to accompany you?", she asked the cat.

"Certainly!", the Lunarian feline replied. "The discovery of the Princess is something all her subjects should be present for. Including you?"

"Don't you think the sight of a talking cat might scare her a little? I mean, she may not have her memories back yet. Even I don't have mine back.", the raven-haired girl replied.

"Oh very well.", the cat sighed, before undergoing a similar set of stunts to Artemis' the previous night. At the end of them, there stood a beautiful woman with black hair and a yellow dress. "Do you think this will work nicely?"

"Yes, now let's go.", Rei said, transforming into Sailor Mars. But before either of the two women could leave the temple gate, they were stopped by a familiar teenage boy. It was Ryo Urawa, the boy Ami had brought to the Dark Club. "What do you want?", Rei asked, in a hurry to see the Princess.

"I came here to warn you of a trap.", the boy said in response.

"Oh, what is it?"

"It's me!", Ryo said with fear. "I'm the trap. They gave me the vision so I would come here to see you."

"But why would they give you a vision?", Luna asked, confused.

"Because I knew he's had them for as long as he's known.", another voice rang out. Mars and Luna turned to the source. It was Nephrite, accompanied by his Youma Jumeau. "He has them because he is one of our 7 Shadow Warriors, reincarnated."

"What?", Mars said, dumbfounded. "Is that how you knew that Mercury couldn't be trusted back at the club?"

"Yes.", the boy said. "Like Nephrite said, I've had the ability to see people's future since I started being able to recall memories. I don't mean to do what I'm about to do to you. I just wanted to warn you so…" but he was cut off before he could finished.

Nephrite had pulled out his dark crystal and gone through the same ritual as with Techniclon. In a few moments, Ryo Urawa had been stripped of his human persona and reverted to his true form; Shadow Warrior Bunbo. "Now my servant" Nephrite declared "Crush these women and bring me the Crescent Wand."

"With pleasure.", the monster snarled in reply, as it raised its arm to attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back. It's been a month of thinking about what to do next, but I have returned. And I will now update sporadically as possible.


	28. Robot Parade.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember those robots from last chapter. Of course you do, it just came out.

After a few minutes, the man lying on Haruka's floor came to. "What happened?", he asked with confusion.

"You passed out.", Haruka said with a matter-of-fact tone. "Now Taka, how about you explain how you ended up back to normal. The last time I saw you, you'd been turned into a giant metal man, trying to kill me."*

"You mean Motro.", he said. "He created a machine to separate himself from the human element of his body. Namely me. Once, we were separated, he tried to kill me. He's creating an army of robots to raise the city and take down the Dark Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Haruka was adamant on what to do. "We have to stop him before he can launch his attack. Can you take him to where he's holed up?"

"Of course I can.", the injured mon said in response. "But I think it's best we go alone. You know, so we can get there quicker."

"If you say so.", Haruka shrugged before running out. As she did, she failed to notice Takamoto say "Stupid, gullible Tenoh" under his breath before joining her.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, across town, three of the Sailor Guardians (and the princess of the Moon) were being confronted by the very robots Takamoto had been talking about. A small group of them anyway. The three of them launched their attacks at the mechanical terrors.

"Venus Crescent Beam, Smash!"

"Mercury Bubble Spray, Blast!"

"Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

But none of them had any effect. The machines continued to advance.

"They've been proofed against our basic attacks.", Mercury said. "But perhaps our star power attacks could be powerful enough to put a dent in their numbers."

"Bad metal puns aside, I think that could work.", Venus said, before calling on her enhanced attack. "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" As predicted, three of them were impaled and lying prostrate on the floor.

Mercury followed suit with her enhanced attack "Shine Aqua Illusion!" With that, another three of the robots were shorted out. That just left Jupiter facing off against the last three. As they advanced, the fourth figure in the room emitted a blinding light and rose up into the air. Her voice cried out.

"Moon Prism Power!" A flash, and the princess was now dressed in a similar outfit to the other Sailors.

"You mean we don't actually have to say "Make Up" as part of the transformation?", Mercury said with shock.

"Oh that?", Venus reacted "What Artemis actually told Luna was to make up a grand speech to try and get you girls to co-operate if you were ever found and didn't believe her story. He just has a stilted way of saying certain words."

"]]]]YOUR APPEARANCE DOES NOT COMLY WIH CURRENT INFORMATION ON ACTIVE SAILOR SCOUTS![[[[", one of the robots buzzed. "]]]]PLEASE IDENTIFY![[[["

"I am Sailor Moon, the champion of justice!", the princess sailor Guardian replied. "And on behalf of the Moon, I shall right wrongs and punish evil. And that means you!"

"Now that's a speech worthy of Yugi Moto himself.", Venus replied. Then the princess pressed the jewel on her tiara and pulled it off, as it transformed into a discus.

"Moon Tiara Magic!"

The glowing discus flew threw the air like a boomerang. It hit all three of the remaining robots causing them to collapse. Jupiter breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad that you're awake, or that would've been a close one."

"Yeah, but I'm not entirely sure about this whole thing myself.", Usagi Tsukino said in response. "Is this the whole team?"

"No, we're missing Sailor Mars.", Mercury responded. "We should probably go and check what's keeping her."

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Haruka and Takamoto were outside the doors of the abandoned factory where Motro had supposedly set up shop.

"Wait out here.", Haruka hissed at her companion. "I'm going in."

"Are you sure about this -" Takamoto began before Haruka kicked the door in.

"What have we here?", Motro said, turning around from a conveyor belt, producing more of the robots.

"Remember me?", Haruka yelled. "Because I'm about to make sure you don't forget." But as she lifted her transformation pen, her hand was stopped and the pen snatched from her grip. Haruka turned around and was shocked to who had taken it.

It was Takamoto, who now started laughing and transformed into Motro. "Did you really think I'd remove my human element? It's the one thing that allowed me to fool you so effectively."

Haruka was shocked. "If you're still Motro, then what's that thing over there?" A quick blast from the real deals arm Cannon quickly answered her query; a robot.

"Hold her!", the mechanical man said to his robots. Two of them stepped off the conveyor and grabbed her. Then he turned on the lights to reveal a machine. It had the stolen Rainbow Crystal in the centre and the star seeds of the people he had turned into his servants on four podiums. Motro placed the pen in a holder on top of the device. "I lured you here so I could harness your transformation energies for my servants."

"No. Don't do it!", the girl cried, but to no avail. He switched on the machine, which began crackling with power. The capsular objects began to glow, 4 pens identical to Haruka's rising from them. When the process was over, the one that had powered the machine turned grey and shattered into several pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * See chapter 11 for more details.
> 
> I decided to include the robots because I wanted to see how a group of heroes focused primarily around magical threats faced something scientific.
> 
> The scenes with Haruka and Motro were originally intended for last chapter, but I forgot to include them. So I decided to turn them into their own chapter.


	29. The Team Unites.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title says it all, really.

Haruka was trapped. Two of Motro's robots were pointing weapons at her. Worse, she couldn't transform, since her power pen had just been destroyed.

"I lured you here to provide the power I required," Motro stated "but now you have no further use. Cybernoids, annihilate her!"

But before they could fire, the gem in the machine pulled itself free and flew over to the girl. There was a flash and she was gone. The two robots didn't have time to register this before they fired, destroying each other.

Elsewhere, Haruka reappeared in an alleyway, with the crystal. "How did you do that?", she asked it.

"This Crystal contains a portion of my mind.", a female voice came out of seemingly nowhere. "Enough to reach out and use it to save you from danger."

"That was really helpful of you," Haruka replied "but it's not like I can do anything to help you. I lost my pen." But instead of replying, the crystal flashed again and created a new more elaborate-looking pen.

"I have not only restored your old powers, but I have improved on them. Now, you may call upon the power of Uranus itself to transform.", the voice stated. Then it continued "Like you girls, I too was reincarnated in this time as a normal human. It is vital that you do not attempt to awaken me until this crisis is over. Tell no-one of this encounter. Farewell." And then the gem went back to being dormant.

* * *

 

Not far away, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury and the newly awakened Sailor Moon were running to the Hikawa Shrine. Worried about Sailor Mars, the group had called her, only to discover that she was in a fight with another shadow warrior. Thus, all of them had immediately made for the temple, except Sailor Jupiter, who stayed behind to clear up the remains of the robots. But on the way, Venus and Mercury were hit with an unexpected obstacle; Moon was out of shape.

"Can you guys slow down for a minute?", the blonde panted. "I need to catch my breath."

"Jesus Christ, Usagi. You really are conveying the stereotype that all blondes aren't that smart.", Mercury sighed.

But before their conversation could escalate into an argument, Venus pointed out "Isn't that Mars fighting the monster she described earlier?" The other two turned around to see Mars in a fight with a giant white hulk-like monster with Swiss-army knife hands. And she was losing.

"Must destroy enemy!", the creature said before turning to face his new opponents. He fired one of his blade-hands at the Sailors, which they very narrowly managed to dodge. Then they began launching their attacks.

"Venus Love Chain, Encircle!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Moon Tiara Magic!"

Being hit by these attacks was enough to disorientate the thing, but not topple it. "Why do you continue to fight?", it roared. "You have no hope of defeating me." Then everyone turned around to behold something shocking.

Sailor Mars was glowing with the same energy that had previously surrounded Venus and Mercury during their previous battles, only in red. "My friends will keep fighting until you and your fellow creeps are defeated. And so will I. You took my grandfather from me, I won't go easy on you." And then a ball of white fire appeared in the palms of her hands.

"Mars Celestial Fire, Surround!"

Balls of flame shot at the creature managing to knock it to the floor. Then Mars picked up a crescent shaped sceptre from nearby and threw it at Sailor Moon. "Quickly!", she said. "Use that thing to turn him back."

"Okay.", Sailor Moon said with a shrug. She picked it up and the words to use came to her. "Moon Healing Activation!"

"No! Nooo!" The creature cried out. It briefly changed into a young adult man, in ancient Egyptian style clothes, with long hair and stubble, before changing back to Ryo Urawa, who collapsed on the floor.

"Will someone please give me some answers about this whole thing?", Moon shrieked. The other Scouts simply sighed.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Motro had rendezvoused with his four phages. He was holding their star seeds, now glowing with the purity of the Light of Hope, and the pens he had created from them. "Now my servants, you shall be able to achieve a disguise that allows you to pass unnoticed in public." He handed each one their pens and began inserting their star seeds into their bodies once more. However, his first phage to have their star seed restored, Sailor Leaguer, asked a question that surprised him.

"Why? Why do you need us to do your dirty work?" The other phages and the Cybernoids didn't react, but Motro did, with shock. "We're not your puppets. We're real people and I'm want out of this thing."

"You dare defy me?", the cyborg snarled. But before he could do something, his wayward servant jumped out of his line of fire and bolted out the door.

"It looks like we need to recast.", Sailor Director said.

"Yes.", the metal former-man growled. "Yes we shall!"


	30. Back Without A Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 new plot developments show up.

Beryl was displeased. Metaria had called her to tell her something of importance. Jadeite had been recovered by a pair of aquatic Youma. The sight of him was enough to make her repulsed. 

"My Queen.", Jadeite blurted out. He sounded as terrible as he looked; his hair was unkempt, his clothes were ruined and he had started to grow stubble. "You don't know how glad I am to see you." 

"So am I." Beryl was smiling. "It means I can deal with you personally for your defiance." 

"What are you talking about, my Queen? I've been nothing but loyal to you for these last few millennia."

"I know what you did to Zoisite.", Beryl declared. "I won't tolerate my warriors fighting among themselves." She clicked her fingers to reveal a large, oval-shaped cocoon. 

"What is that thing?" Jadeite was now terrified. 

"I Am Your Master!", the cocoon said, in a husky, but feminine voice. "Your Energy Is Obviously Wasted On You. I Shall Take It For A More Practical Use."

Jadeite was dragged, kicking and screaming towards the cocoon. "No, please. Beryl, have pity on me!", he yelled. 

But all the Queen of the Dark Kingdom had to say was "I have pity for you." She did nothing as tentacles formed from the cocoon and dragged him in. The man's flesh dissolved off him, leaving only a skeleton. The bubbles oozing off the body coalesced into a silhouette, resembling a woman. "Master Metaria, is this your true form?", Beryl asked. 

"No, My Servant. This Is Merely A Transitional Form. I Need A Suitable Host For A True Body. In This Form, I Have Barely Enough Power To Create One Youma."

This gave Beryl an idea. "How about I donate my power to creating the Youma? Then we can use it to destroy those meddling Scouts once and for all." 

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Haruka had just finished unloading the boxes from her car. Michiru was helping her carry them into the new house they had bought. She was just getting to the end of her story about the events at the factory. Michiru was surprised. 

"You mean that someone is alive inside the Crystal that saved you?", she asked. 

"Apparently.", the other girl replied. "They also upgraded my power pen so that I can now harness the power of Uranus itself. Whatever that means." 

Hearing this, Michiru got slightly jealous. "So when do I get a power-up from the mysterious deus-ex-Crystal?", she said sarcastically. 

Before Haruka could reply, there was a thud from outside. The two girls quickly put the box they were carrying down and went to investigate. The source was a teenage girl, about 15, with long green hair. Even more green than Michiru's hair, which looked blue by comparison. They noticed that she was carrying an ornate pen, similar to one Haruka had seen too recently for comfort. She was one of Motro's goons.

* * *

 

At a local park some time later, Usagi and Ami were having a discussion. Since the battle with Ryo - or rather, his monster form - the other day, Usagi had been filled in on as much as the 4 of them knew. They had also taken to meeting to discuss any strange events that might have been a Youma attack. But today, Minako was having an operation to treat her relapsed  Leukaemia, while Makoto and Rei were at self-defence classes. So it was just the two of them. 

"So Ami, anything out of the ordinary to report?", the blonde said. 

The bluenette shook her head. "A few things, but nothing concrete. One person supposedly saw a metal man posting letters, but he was drunk and short-sighted, so I'd rule that out. There's also that new idol singer." 

"New idol singer?", Usagi said, genuinely confused. 

"Yes.", Ami nodded. "Her name's Mio Kuroki. She just showed up out of nowhere overnight. Suddenly everyone's clamouring for her autograph and singing her praises." Then she realised the accidental wordplay in that sentence. "If you'll excuse the unintentional pun." 

Both girls sighed. This new idol thing was nothing out of the ordinary. They thought it was just going to be another average day. That was until they came face to face with someone familiar. Reika Nishimura, or rather, the Youma that she really was." 

"Hello, Usagi," "Reika" said with a sneer "or should I say, Princess Serenity?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I've decided to use the Mio Kuroki plot. I just thought it would be interesting to write.
> 
> I'd like to recommend that you share this story with as many people as you can. It can make all the difference to me.
> 
> The unintentional pun was actually unintentional during the writing of this chapter. I just added the quip from Mercury to acknowledge that fact.


	31. Attack of the Killer Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember that friend of Sailor Moon's who got turned into a Shadow Warrior a while back? Neither do I.

Joe was weirded out by this. Yesterday, he had received a letter from a mysterious contact, claiming to be a friend. It had said to meet him at the lakes to discuss taking his skills to the next level. Considering that Joe's main skills were with arcade machines, it was probably a video game championship. But when he got there, the person who sent the letter wasn't there. There was however, several people who had received similar letters; a priest who had been offered the meaning of life the universe and everything, an artist who had been offered some tips on improving her style and a little girl who had been offered grooming tips for her cat.

Just as they were sick of waiting, a large robot-like figure made his appearance. "Ah, so everyone's here. You have all done well." Motro fired the same paralysis beams that he used on Akane Gushiken. Within moments, all were frozen solid, with the exception of the cat. "No matter, this makes the extraction more fun." He fired a ray at the cat, which eventually pulled the Crystal out of it. The cat began to grow, its fur turning partially from blue to black, the fat turning into muscle and tooth and claw extending outward. This must be Shadow Warrior Bakane. Bakane reached to attack, but Motro merely froze him in place. Now to get the others as well. He'd need them for his bargaining chip.

* * *

 

Elsewhere in the park, Usagi and Ami were face to face with what appeared to be Reika Nishimura. Then they were reminded of the brutal truth when she turned into her Youma form.

"The last time we met, I was told to kill you, Princess.", the Youma declared. "This time, I'm going to carry out that order." With that, she conjured up a knife and swung it at the two girls. After narrowly dodging out of the way, they double-checked that no-one else was around, the two pulled out their pens and transformed.

"Moon Prism Power!"/"Mercury Power!"

The two were in their Sailor outfits in an instant. The Shadow was pleased. "2 of you? No problem. That just gives me another one to kill."

She conjured up a flask, that she threw at Sailor Moon. It shattered, releasing hundreds of leeches. Moon was terrified. "Mercury, how can we stop these things?", she screamed.

Mercury activated a visor that covered her eyes. "According to this analysis, they'll disappear if we can disorientate her."

Taking the hint, Moon picked up her tiara and converted it into it's discus form. "Moon Tiara Action!" The blow knocked Techniclon over, causing the leeches to do as predicted and disappear." Then Moon pulled out the Crescent Moon Sceptre to use her other technique. "Moon Sceptre Healing Activation!"

Techniclon convulsed, before being engulfed by light. For a moment, Reika appeared in an Egyptian Priestess outfit, before the light cleared and she was back in her normal clothes. "What happened? How did I get here?"

"I think we'd better get out of here and avoid awkward questions.", Mercury suggested to Sailor Moon, who nodded in agreement.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Queen Beryl was addressing Kunzite and Nephrite. "I am very displeased at you. In the last few days, we have lost two of the seven Shadow Warriors. The loss of even one could cause our plans to be derailed."

Kunzite was calm and collected in his response. "We still have one of them in our possession and two of the Rainbow Crystals."

"I am already working on recovering the other Shadow Warriors.", Nephrite said.

"Then allow me to save you the trouble." All present turned towards the source of the voice. It was a projected image of the traitor Motro. "I have captured the remaining Shadow Warriors you are searching for. I will return them all to you, unharmed, plus a little girl to do with as you please. All I ask in return is the two Crystals you already possess."

"And if we refuse?", asked Beryl, trying to call his bluff.

"Then I suppose that the warriors will be killed and the Crystals they held remain with me. It's your choice." With that last remark, the image vanished, leaving everyone present discussing what to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, there really was a metal man using the post box in the last episode. You may remember that Haruka and Michiru have one of the Rainbow Crystals, so you can guess what happens next.
> 
> So two Shadow Warriors are down, with 5 to go.


	32. Revelations and Repercussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two major plot advancements and a bit of needless explanation for a minor plot element.

Following their battle with Techniclon, Usagi and Ami decided to look for Luna. They had noticed that something unusual had happened during the healing process. They had seen something similar (and even more jarring) during the battle with Ryo's monster form the other day. Curious as to what it meant, they had both decided to ask Luna about it.

When they found her, the cat sighed. "I didn't think I'd ever have to share this story again."

This got Ami curious. "You mean you have a whole story for these brief ghostly appearances?"

Luna nodded. "Indeed. It all began very long time ago. Back in the days of early civilisation, there was a cult that believed that Death was the only ultimate in life. They used a jaguar to try and summon a demon that would eradicate their leaders, who were seen by the cultists as corrupt and snobbish. One day, they succeeded. The six cultists found a demon and summoned it into the mortal world, in exchange for more power. All of them, even the jaguar, were corrupted by the dark entity into destroying the moon."

"This cult were the Shadow Warriors you told me about, aren't they?", Usagi asked.

"You'd be correct to think that.", Luna replied. And then she continued. "During the attack, Queen Serenity sealed the 7 Shadows inside 7 Rainbow Crystals. They were restored to their human forms, albeit with all impulse to commit acts of evil suppressed and with no lingering powers left over. As an unusual side effect, whenever one of them died, they would be reincarnated into a new body, with no memory of their previous lives."

"You still haven't explained those apparitions we saw.", Ami pointed out.

"I'm getting to that. Once the Crystals are removed, the hosts DNA is overwritten with that of their original incarnation, which is what brings out the Shadow Warrior. When healed, the dark magic contaminating them is cleared, reverting them to their original human form. Then, that presence is exorcised from the body, restoring the current incarnation as a separate entity. The soul is sent to a world known as the Netherway, where spirits of evil go for eternity."

Content with the explanation, Ami and Usagi thanked Luna and went home.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Motro was meeting with Nephrite, who had been sent from the Dark Kingdom. Both were accompanied by a personal retinue. Motro had his three Phages, while Nephrite had the Youma Widow, Jumeau and the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux.

"So I take it you agreed to my demand for the Rainbow Crystals you have.", Motro said.

"Indeed.", Nephrite replied, handing them over. "You can scan them if you want to check their authenticity."

Motro did so. "Confirmed. You are telling the truth." He then ushered for Sailor Director to release the prisoners. The four remaining Shadows and the paralysed human were handed over. The trade completed, Motro inserted the Crystals into a slot on his chest, stopping when he realised something. "One of them is missing!"

"Perhaps Sailor Uranus stole it from the factory the other day.", Sailor Medicine suggested.

"Perhaps.", Motro replied. "Our association with Nephrite is now concluded.", he said, creating a smokescreen for long enough for him to disappear with his followers and the Crystals. Nephrite snarled, the ambush he had planned was a failure.

"So what do we do now?", one of the twins asked.

Nephrite thought for a minute, then said "Take them back to Queen Beryl. Leave the girl with me." The Youma complied. Nephrite then performed a Sutra, which transformed the little girl into a puppet-like creature. "Track down that metal man and put him on the scrap heap."

"As you wish.", the Youma said with stiff lips, before flying off, as if on strings.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Lily Temple woke up. Looking at her body, she was dismayed to discover that her ordeal over the last few days hadn't just been a dream. She really had been turned into a weird sports monster and called herself Sailor Leaguer. Even worse, she was now in a glass room, being tied up by 2 women, a blonde tomboy and a bluenette girly girl. "Let me guess, you think I'm here to kill you?", she groaned.

"And why wouldn't we?", Haruka asked. "You're one of Motro's goons from the factory."

"I was.", Lily corrected her. "But those pens he used your power to make did more than what he intended. It gave me my mind back, allowing me to get away from that horrible man. If he does send someone to kill you, I think you'll find they'll be trying to kill me as well."

"Do you really expect us to believe that?", was Haruka's response. But then the three Phages burst in through the windows and each picked a target, including Lily, who was targeted by her old partner, Sailor Gekisha.

"Well now I've got you in my sights, traitor.", Gekisha cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The explanation for the random ancient figures appearing wasn't in my original plan. I added it because someone reading didn't quite pick up on the theme.


	33. Battle at the Mansion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all really.

Noriko Okamachi unlocked her door and walked into her house. She had recently won a trip to the Rocky Mountains in a dog show. She had just dropped her dog off at a friend’s house, in order to pack her belongings without a fuss. But inside, she could see her umbrella rack had been knocked over while she was out. There were also hand indentations embedded in the wall. When she followed them into the kitchen, stopping at what she saw. A large metal man, with an unusual sort of gun mounted on its arm.

“Who are you?”, Noriko said with fear on her face. “Why are you here?” 

“For you!”, was the reply she received. Then the figure held out his hand towards her, causing a jewelled capsule to appear out of her chest and fly into his his clutch. Then Noriko convulsed, turning into something else entirely. Soon, Noriko Okamachi was gone, in her place stood another Phage. Motro was pleased. “Identify yourself. Whom do you serve?” 

The creature giggled incessantly. She had pink hair and white skin, wearing sunglasses on her head and a red, ankle-length dress. “I am Sailor Ojou. If I serve anyone, it’s you, big boy.” 

* * *

 

Elsewhere, back at Haruka and Michiru’s house, Motro’s other forces were on the attack. Haruka turned to their house guest, Sailor Leaguer. “So you weren’t lying when you said they were after you?” 

“Not a good time, blondie.”, was the reply their bound guest gave, as Sailor Director advanced. Leaguer tried to reason with her former comrade. “Director! Akane! You’ve got to remember who you are and let me go.” 

“You turned your back on Lord Motro when you came to the Senshi for help.”, was all Director had to say to her. But as she advance, Haruka and Michiru managed to overpower their captors, Sailor Geshika and Sailor Medicine, and pulled out their power pens to transform. 

“Uranus Planet Power!” 

“Neptune Star Power!” 

Within seconds, the two had transformed into the Outer Scouts, Uranus and Neptune. Then an evil laugh filled the air.

Motro stepped through the hole in the wall with his new servant. “I knew I had found your location when I registered a massive aura signal.”, he gloated. “Then he detached his cannon from his arm and split it into two swords, throughing one to Haruka. “Now Tenoh, we finish this once and for all.” 

“Agreed.”, Haruka nodded, with some anger. She just wanted to kill this guy, without seeing if there was still good in him. The two crossed swords as Sailor Ojou joined her new comrades in fighting Neptune and Leaguer. 

“Let’s see how you girls do against someone more beautiful than you.”, Ojou giggled. 

“That’s rich, coming from someone with pink hair and a tacky dress.”, Leaguer quipped in response. 

But then, Ojou ripped off her red dress, exposing a more revealing black outfit. This also seemed to increase the power she had, as she managed to take down both opponents without much trouble. While Leaguer managed to summon up the energy to jump out the hole, Neptune was not so fortunate. The four Phages decided to take her as a prisoner.

* * *

 

Outside, Sailor Uranus and Motro continued their duel, the metal man swinging his blade and tearing her uniform. In retaliation, the Senshi warrior called upon her power, which caused the sword she wielded to turn into a more traditional version. (Elsewhere, a mirror appeared in Sailor Neptune’s pocket.)   

“Uranus Space Sword Shock!” With three slashes, Motro’s shoulder pad, weapon and chest plate were severed and knocked off the hill. The missing chest plate now exposed the 6 Rainbow Crystals he had gathered. “It’s over.”, she stated.

Now Motro was angry. “Not over! NEVER OVER!” 

Then a rose flew down and Motro turned to the source. It was Tuxedo Mask, now with a domino mask as opposed to his full face helmet from last time. “I have to thank you, Sailor Uranus. If it wasn’t for this creature hunting you down, I wouldn’t be able to find the Rainbow Crystals.” 

Motro was confused. “I thought your objective was to destroy the Dark Kingdom. What changed your modus operandi?”

”I was out to destroy the Dark Kingdom. But then I had a vision of a princess in my dreams, the same I’ve been having for 8 years. She told me to find the Rainbow Crystals. She promised that then, she would be free and that I would remember my real name.” 

“I didn’t ask for your life story.”, Motro responded. Then he realised something from the data he had absorbed from the six Crystals. “But you are correct about one thing. The Silver Crystal can tell you who you are, Prince!” While they were shocked, he knocked Uranus out, grabbed her Crystal (disguised as a clasp on her bow) and inserted it into his chest. The Crystal holder now started spinning, Motro himself now surrounded by a golden glow. He then grabbed Tuxedo Mask and carried him away, the next step of his plan already underway…

To be continued!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to hornsofdesolation on fanfiction.net for helping me with ideas for this chapter 
> 
> I have no idea if my spelling of where Noriko is going is correct.


	34. Replakor Awakens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing from where we left off.

In the city, the main 5 Sailors were battling Nephrite and a new Youma. Mercury’s analysis had indicated that this one was just a child, meaning that they had to prioritise curing her first. Therefore, Venus moved to restrain her. “Venus Love Chain, Encircle!” The Golden chain rapped around her opponent, giving Mars an opportunity to strike. 

“Mars Celestial Fire, Surround!” This knocked the Youma back, leaving Mercury with an opening. 

“Shine Aqua Illusion!” The Youma was now frozen solid. “Now, Sailor Moon!”, Mercury yelled. “Heal her before she can break free.” 

“Right.” Sailor Moon held out her Crescent Wand and began spinning. “Moon Healing Activation!” Bright light surrounded the creature, exorcising the evil and restoring the little girl to normal. Frustrated, Nephrite retreated into the shadows. 

The scouts all celebrated, except Jupiter, who was sulking. “I could’ve helped if I had a new Star Power like the others.”, she thought. “I just need the opportunity to show I have the determination to unlock it.” 

As if on cue, a metal figure flew in with a captive in tow. Moon didn’t recognise the figure, but the others did. 

“Motro.”, Mars said, barely concealing her anger. She hadn’t forgotten what he had done to her grandfather. 

“How nice of you to remember me, Rei.”, their nemesis replied, momentarily shocking her. “That’s right, I know who you are. I also have someone else you might be interested in.” He threw his captive towards them. None of them recognised him, none but Sailor Venus. 

“I know him.”, she cried out. “He was at the jewellery store, the night that Mars got awakened. He got attacked by the Youma posing as the owner. 

“That would explain the fact that Mrs. Osaka was acting weird that day.”, Moon stated. 

Motro ignored her, focusing on what Venus had said. “Excellent deduction. But this thief wasn’t after diamond necklaces. He was after something I now possess. Something the Dark Kingdom have been after for thousands of years. The Silver Imperium Crystal.” 

The Sailors were shocked at what he had said. “You possess the Silver Crystal?”, Mercury gasped. 

“Yes. And all the power that comes with it.” With that declaration, Motro began glowing all over. His armour broke off, piece by piece, exposing a more organic version of his previous appearance. The only major change was the lack of an arm cannon, the damage he had been sporting was now repaired and he had a wheel on his forehead. “Now I am more than man, more than machine. I am all your powers in one being. I am Replakor!” 

“New look, same old lines.”, Mars quipped. “Mars Fire Soul, Ignite!” 

Replakor took the blow, before the wheel spun around to the alchemical symbol for Mars. “My turn. Replakor Fire Soul Ignite!” The blast knocked all five Sailors back. “Whatever you girls have thrown at me in our past encounters, I can throw back at you by corrupting the power of the Crystal to my will. Nothing short of the Legendary Blade can stop me.” 

At this, Jupiter flew into a rage. “You think you can take something sacred and pervert it towards your own selfish desires. I won’t let you get away with this. Not now, not ever!” Just like the others in their recent skirmishes, she was enveloped with a glowing aura. “Jupiter Star Power!”, she cried. Then a small amount of electricity began to develop in her hand. “Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!” 

The blast knocked Replakor back, knocking him out in the process. When he came to, the Sailors were gone, along with their friend in the tuxedo. “No matter, we have an idea of where to look for you, Scouts. You can’t hide from us.” Once he had left, A blue-skinned Youma dressed as a kunoichi emerged from the shadows, only picking up a metal helmet before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed Motro’s name because I never liked it, and thought this upgrade was the perfect opportunity to do so. It was also the perfect place to conclude the Star Power mini-arc. 
> 
> And as the ending implies, the next chapter will focus on the Legendary Blade, which was mentioned a few chapters back. 
> 
> The idea that the Silver Crystal can be corrupted is a homage to the Matrix Quest from Marvel’s Transformers series, where this fate befell the Matrix Of Leadership.


	35. Padding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story with Uranus and the Phages reaches its conclusion.

At the abandoned factory used as a base by the being now known as Replakor, the four Phages placed their captive on a table, with her arms and legs tied down. 

“I don’t see why we’re continuing to treat this patient.”, Sailor Medicine complained. “We should just cut her off and be done with it.” 

“The master has her in his sights.”, Sailor Gekisha replied in her usual disonantly serene tone. “We’re keeping her alive for him to take a snap at her.” 

Sailor Director took over. “Then he’ll have the experience he needs to kill her partner and complete production of his revenge.” 

“That’s all I needed to hear.” The four of them turned to the source of the voice, their former comrade, Sailor Leaguer. “And I’ll thank you for leading me to where I need to be.” 

Director was furious. “How did you get in here?” 

“You didn’t lock the door” was Leaguer’s reply. “Like I said, I’m thankful for that. It gives me a chance to help you shake off what Motro did to you?” 

“What he did” Sailor Ojou retorted “was give me all the charm I need to get me a man.” 

Ignoring this moment of weirdness, Leaguer summoned up a baseball and threw it at a cupboard with a padlock. “Leaguer Home Run!” But the impact did nothing but leave a large circular dent in the door. Then she hit upon an idea and turned to Sailor Gekisha. “Hey Saki, that green skin and black hoodie combo does not do you any favours. It makes you look like some demented evil Yoda.” 

Now the camera-themed Phage was ticked off. And visibly so at that. She jumped up at her former friend and launched her own attack. “Gekisha Shutter Chance!” But her target jumped out of the way, causing the laser to vaporise the door. 

Inside the cabinet were the four star seeds of Replakor’s phages. Leaguer-Lily, she mentally corrected herself-was relieved to know that he had stopped to store Ojou’s before he went to attack the mansion. She could tell it apart because it wasn’t glowing from the energy stolen from Sailor Uranus. She picked up the three that were glowing and threw them at their original owners. “Everyone, wake up. You’re all free.” 

The star seeds all returned to their original hosts, with the pens Replakor had created during the time he had been Motro also flying up to their owners. The only one left unaffected was Sailor Ojou, who just stood there befuddled. “What are you guys waiting for? Kill her.” 

“My pleasure.”, was Sailor Director’s response. But before she could attack, Sailors Gekisha and Medicine stopped her from intervening. “What are you doing? Attack her, not me.” 

“I’m not going to just listen to you barking orders to kill people.”, Sailor Gekisha responded. “Especially with my best friend.” Lily was relieved to hear this. It was a sign that the real Saki Itabashi was back. She just hoped the same was true for the nurse. 

Sure enough, she responded to Saki’s declaration with one of her own. “When I signed up for medical school, I took an oath. “Do not harm”, I swore. I’m not about to continue letting people like you and Motro continue to make me violate that code.” Now Lily wondered why Sailor Director hadn’t reverted to Akane Gushiken’s personality. 

The answer soon presented itself. “Well whoop-de-do, you can go back to your miserable, meaningless lives. Do you really think that I want to be a director who’s so out of work that I have to moonlight as a nun and teach basic etiquette to sweaty teenagers. Becoming a Phage was the best thing that ever happened to me. And I’m not about to let the 3 of you stop it all now.” 

Then Sailors Uranus and Neptune jumped up. “You’d better make that 5 of us, Lady.” 

“No, it can’t be!”, Director cried. 

“Uranus Space Sword Shock!” 

The Neptune pulled out the mirror that had appeared while she was unconscious. With it, she performed a new attack of her own. “Neptune Submarine Reflection!” 

There was a huge flash, blinding the two Sailor Scouts and the three Phages. When everything had cleared, Sailor Ojou was lying unconscious, but Sailor Director had gone.

* * *

 

Out in the woods, Akane Gushiken came to a stop. Even as a Phage, she was out of breath. The master was gone and all her comrades had been lost to goodness. But she swore that she would return with her own plan. One that would shake the city of Tokyo forever and get revenge on those that had wronged her. But until that day… 

 

Suddenly, a large, oozing figure came out of the the trees. He was clearly weaker than she was and she thought he would be just another Youma she could secretly steal energy from. But then he spoke. “I remember you! It’s  been a long time, Director.” Before she could have time to react to this, he grabbed hold of her and began draining HER. In the aftermath, all that was left of Akane Gushiken was a skeleton. And the creature had used the energy to revert to his original form. The form he had worn when he had been called Motro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end of the Phage part of the storyline. That means that Replakor is gonna have no minions left when he has his final battle. 
> 
> To avoid accusations of lying, I said last chapter that the story with Replakor and the Legendary Blade would continue next “time”, not next “chapter”. Pay attention to wording.


	36. Time Warp TG1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to stop Replakor, Sailor Moon must go through a quest to receive a new weapon. So we’re probably doomed.

The 5 Senshi ran back to the temple. That last battle had caught them unawares. Luna and Artemis were both shocked. “What happened?”, Artemis asked. 

“You know that motorcycle guy?”, Sailor Venus said in response. “Well he came back, only he’s now calling himself Replakor. He’s drawing power from the Silver Crystal, and using it to mimic our powers.” 

Luna was shocked to hear this. “If this creature is drawing power from the Phantom Silver Crystal, then we may not have a chance against the Dark force’s return.” 

It was then that Sailor Mercury chipped in. “He mentioned something called a “legendary blade”, that could stop him. Do you know what that is?” 

Venus replied. “From what memory that I had restored, the Crescent Moon Wand, the Silver Crystal and the Legendary Blade are 3 pieces of a more powerful weapon. The Blade was lost long before the fall of the Silver Millennium. I was killed by a replica used for display purposes.” 

Sailor Jupiter asked a question. “If the Blade was lost a long time ago, then how do we get it?” 

“With my help!” Everyone turned to the source of the voice. It was a young woman, with green hair, dressed in a similar outfit to theirs. She was surrounded by a golden glow. 

Sailor Mars recognised her. “You were there on the night we helped Mercury.” 

“Yes.”, the figure replied. “I intervene in times of crisis, such as this. I have the power of time itself, which allows me to send anyone to any time they need to visit.” 

“So you can send us all back to when the Blade was still there, so we can get it for ourselves.”, Sailor Moon asked. 

“Yes and no.”, was the reply. “I can’t send back more then two people. You, Sailor Moon, have to go on this voyage. The Legendary Blade will only activate in your presence.” 

“But why me?” 

“All will be clear in time. But you must decide on who will accompany you back in time.” Then the figure turned grey. 

“Ok guys, you heard her. We need to choose someone to go back with me.”, Moon turned to the others. 

“I’ll go.”, Mars chimed in without discussion. “Half of this team wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me. If we fail and Replakor destroys Earth or something, it’s my fault.” 

The other girls were shocked. “I can’t put up a better argument than that.”, Venus said. 

“Neither can I.”, Mercury added. 

“Me neither.”, Jupiter also added. 

The figure began glowing again. “So it’s settled. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars will go back to the Silver Millennium to recover the Blade.” In Mars’ hand, she materialised…   

“A key?”, Mars said, in surprise. “What am I supposed to do with this?” 

“When you are ready to return,” the figure answered, “hold up the key. I’ll use it to return you home.” 

With that, she opened a vortex for the two to step into. After the two Scouts had gone through and disappeared, Replakor smashed through the wall and leaped into the vortex, getting sucked into it before it closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice that Replakor isn’t how he was at the end of the last chapter. This should hint at things to come. 
> 
> I’ve been planning this time travel story ever since I first mentioned the Legendary Blade back in chapter 21. I also intended for it to occur around this point, since this is usually the point where the creators go into time travel.
> 
> The Legendary Blade is a cross between 2 things; the Legendary Sword from the manga and the Elemental Blade from the live-action version. I decided to merge the two for this story.


	37. Life in the Past Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we’re back.

The night that followed the day where Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars and Replakor left for the distant past in search of the Legendary Blade, 3 figures landed on Earth, it response to word of strange creatures on the planet. News that was worrying to these figures, who had seen the same thing on other planets, as a sign that the planet was doomed. Sure enough, after combing the woods, they found a skeleton, burned and drained of energy. 

“From what I can tell, this creature was a Phage.”, one of them said. “But it’s diffferent from the others somehow.” 

“Never mind that now.”, their leader said. “If there are Phages on this planet, then this may be a sign that the enemy has plans to destroy this planet, just as they did to ours.” 

“This could be a problem to our search.”, the third member of the group added. “If my mental scans are correct, then the Princess is probably on this planet. If that’s the case, then we need to find her before they do.” 

“Agreed.”, the leader said. “We’re going to need disguises if we’re to find her without drawing too much attention from the local primitives.” 

And so the three of them made for town, unaware that they were being watched by a cat and a raven, both of which vanished soon after. 

* * *

Back with Sailors Moon and Mars, the two girls had walked into the portal, finding that they were no longer in the Japanese temple. Now, they were in a place that looked like a mix of Greek and Rococo architecture. Both knew that this was somewhat familiar. This was the Moon Kingdom they had grown up in during their original lives although this was an earlier point to their existence, roughly 20 or 30 years. 

“So, how do we look around for the blade without attracting attention?”, Moon asked. 

“How about this?”, Mars replied, taking out the Disguise Pen. “If we hold onto it together, it should turn us both into servants. That way, no-one will pay us much attention.” 

Within a few seconds, the two were dressed as servants, wearing orange-yellow robes and veils that covered all but their faces. As they made their way to the museum area (where the blade was likely to be), they bumped into a girl in a princess outfit. 

“How dare you touch me?”, the girl said impudently. “I am the Princess Maria, second in line to the throne of the Luna people.” This confused the two Scouts, not remembering anything about another Princess from their limited memories. “Get back to your work!”, the Princess yelled again, walking away with something hidden. 

Putting this incident behind them, the girls headed towards the museum only to be shocked by what they saw. 

There was a display for the Elemental Blade, but it was empty. Someone had stolen the blade. And managed to avoid detection. As Sailor Moon reached out, alarms sounded. The Scouts ran for the exit, only to be confronted by a squadron of guards, led by a familiar figure. One who was all too fresh on their minds. 

“They stole the Legendary Blade!”, Princess Maria declared. “For such an act, there is no defence and only one punishment; death.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inclusion of the Starlights was an idea I had recently. They weren’t part of the plan and I’ve never watched or read the StarS arc, but the way I imagined including them just worked. This is also what inspired me to continue this fic. 
> 
> I always intended to depict the Moon Kingdom prior to the fall in this story, partially for the sake of being unique, partially for a twist in the next chapter that will probably blow your mind.


	38. The Sword of Mona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from last time, Moon and Mars are sent to execution, but can’t escape without revealing themselves as time-travellers. How will they get out of this.

As he leapt into the time sphere that had been opened to the Sailors, Replakor felt the full sway of history on his mind. He saw the past (Romans, Saxons, Vikings, Knights, Conquistadors, the Edo period), the events in the present year (the return of the Dark Kingdom, the rise of the elusive Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury being brainwashed by Kunzite) and the future (the world surrounded by ice, which gave way to an empire of Crystal, which would fall eventually, as all empires are wont to do). He knew all would be utterly meaningless if the Dark Kingdom took hold of the power he had absorbed, and used it to purge the Earth of free will and emotion. He also knew that the future he saw would only come about if the Senshi got their hands on that same power, but there were those who would suffer from it, forced to never set foot on their planet of birth for the sins of their ancestors. As long as he held on to the Crystal, neither would come to pass. As he thought about this, he appeared in the middle of a crowded room, presumably his intended destination. Replakor sensed 3 familiar life forms, 2 of them Sailors, the 3rd unknown. 

* * *

Still in their disguises, Usagi and Rei were led to the execution block. Apparently, this was a rush job, since they were being executed by beheading and hanging respectively. In a properly planned execution, they would have had time to either clean the axe for a second beheading, or reset the noose for a second hanging. There was a man who looked like a cleric, with a book in hand. 

“The charges state that you were found in the gallery wing of the Palace.”, the man said to the 2 girls. “When you were found, the alarm had been sounded and the Blade from the Sword Of Mona, the first ruler of our Kingdom of the Moon, was missing from its proper place. You were the only ones in the room when the alarm sounded. You are clearly the guilty party.” Rei noticed that he had a bizarre accent that made half his words sound dirty or like he had a poor grasp of English. 

“But we aren’t.”, Usagi protested. “You have to believe us.” 

But the cleric ignored them. “In accordance with the law of our King, and in the name of the Moon, you shall be punished by being sentenced to-.” 

“Stop!”, a guard ran in. “Those servers are innocent. Release them.” 

The Princess who had accosted them stood up with anger. “What is the meaning of this outrageous accusation?” 

“I am the one in charge of reviewing the security footage for the gallery wing.”, the man replied. “And I found this.” As if on cue, footage played on a large screen in the centre of the room. It showed the two disguised Sailors walking into the gallery wing… and the Blade was already gone. “They didn’t steal the Blade.” 

“Then who did.”, the Cleric asked. 

“Someone who had access to the exhibits without setting off the security alarms.”, the guard replied. “Someone who’s been dabbling in the dark arts of the Negative Universe for some time. Someone like…” he pointed to the Princess “the second-in line to the throne.” 

Everyone in the audience gasped in shock. One girl, presumably the older Princess, Usagi thought, stood up and said. “Why sister? Why would you betray the sacred oath of the royal line?” 

“Oh that’s an easy answer.”, the other Princess replied. “Do you know what a burden it is to be second in line? To live, knowing that you’ll never hold any real power around here? With the Blade of Mona, I could change all that.” 

Before she could continue, a strange yellow-skinned, inhuman creature appeared. Everyone was shocked by this, except for Usagi and Rei, who recognised him immediately; Replakor. In the confusion, the Legendary Blade was sent flying out of the Princess’s pocket and flying towards the main area. Shedding their disguises, Usagi and Rei leaped up and grabbed the artefact everyone was fighting over. 

“No!”, Replakor cried. He leapt at the two airborne Scouts, yelling “Give me the Blade!”. As he got near to them, a sphere of golden energy enveloped them, causing them to disappear. While this was happening, the treacherous second-born Princess tried to run away, only to be confronted by her sister. 

“I’m sorry to do this sister, but you leave me no choice.”, the older princess said solemnly. “For your seditious acts, you will be banished from our dimension and stripped of your name and title.” She pointed the Crescent Moon Wand at her now-enemy and recited a banishment curse. 

“I have no need of my old name anymore.”, the younger Princess snarled. “If I cant have this Kingdom, then no-one can. Know this sister,” she began to fade “I will return. And when I do, your precious Kingdom will fall to me, Metalia!” And with that, she was gone. 

* * *

In a dark void, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars fought Replakor over the Legendary Blade. Moon pulled out her Moon Wand to try and connect the 2, but Replakor knocked it out of her hand, before kicking her down. Mars grabbed the 2 artefacts quickly and put them together. She was surrounded with light. 

 _“So this is the power of the Blade, huh? Let’s see what it can do in a fight.”_  She swung the Sword at Replakor’s chest, where he housed the 7 Rainbow Crystals he had stolen. It exploded open, causing the 7 Crystals to fly out, merge into the Silver Imperium Crystal and attach to the Sword of Mona. Mars was surrounded by an explosion, which cleared to reveal her, wearing armour. **_“Blazing Armour Sailor Mars, ready!”_**

“No! This cannot be.”, Replakor yelled. He made to retrieve the Crystal but Mars had already raised the Sword above her head. 

 **“Mars Corona Burning Strike! This is for my grandfather, you monster!”**  With that, she brought the Sword down on Replakor, hitting him with enough force to send him hurtling out of the time stream early. Mars powered down as she picked up Sailor Moon and made for the end of the tunnel, aiming to go home and rest.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea that Metalia used to be second in line to the throne of the Moon was something I came up with around the time I was plotting chapter 11. It just gives her a bit of motivation and backstory that previous versions are, IMHO, missing. 
> 
> Meanwhile, the power-up mode was something I came up with while writing chapter 28. So this chapter is the payoff to 2 plot points I’ve had in my mind for a while. 
> 
> The name “Mona” comes from the Saxon god of the moon, who gave his name to Monday. 
> 
> Finally, this chapter is a lot later than I would’ve liked to post it. I’ve just been on holiday in Krakow for the last few days, so I’ve had no time to write it. Sorry about that.


	39. Chimera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate to pull out a victory, Nephrite turns to forbidden magic in order to defeat the Sailors.

Nephrite stormed into the chamber of the 7 (now down to 5) shadows. Binah, the artist of the group, noticed that he was angry. “What’s got you down, Nephrite? Another humiliation at the hands of those Sailor brats?”

  
“Worse.”, Nephrite snarled. “Kunzite has just presented Queen Beryl with the remains of that treacherous Motro. Even worse, they were doused in the energy of the Silver Crystal, which I’ve been trying to obtain for weeks now. And now Beryl says that if I can’t pull out a success in the next 72 hours, then I will be fed to Metalia.”

  
“I trust you didn’t just come here to express your frustrations.”, said Game-Machine Man, the cybernetic member of the group.

  
“As a matter of fact, no.”, the General replied. “I have need of the two of you for a ritual to summon what I need.”

  
And after everything had been set up (G-M Man had raised the appropriate stones and put them in a formation, while Binah had drawn the symbols on the ground), Nephrite recited the magic incantation; “Ancient spirits from a bygone age, I summon you from within your cage. Fill our enemies with pure dread, when they find you’ve returned from the dead.”

  
Suddenly, there was a flash and Nephrite vanished, replaced by a bizarre creature. The two Shadows could recognise the features of their former allies, such as Kyurene and Flytrap. They also saw some they didn’t recognise, like a fish and a dragon.

  
“What are you?”, Binah said, disgusted.

  
“It looks like someone made models of previous Youma and smashed them together into this monstrosity.”, her friend replied.  
“We are the ultimate fusion of the deceased warriors of Queen Metalia’s Dark Kingdom.”, the creature said in one voice. “We are the Chimera.”, it continued in another. “And we exist only for one purpose: to destroy the Sailors of the Moon Kingdom.”, it concluded in a third voice, before teleporting out, leaving behind 2 disgusted Shadows.

* * *

 

Elsewhere, Mina and Mako were discussing recent events in the city centre, where nobody could hear them over the ruckus. It had been 3 days since Usagi and Rei had returned from the past, and they hadn’t heard a peep from Replakor since then. His minions also seemed to have vanished, with the only one they could find being Akane Gushiken, who had been reduced to a skeleton. Rei had insisted on bringing the bones to her family so they could be properly buried.  
“So what are we doing about the Sword of Mona?”, Mako asked.

  
“Hidden away, in order to keep it safe from Queen Beryl and Replakor.”, Mina replied. “But Artemis modified my Sailor Crystal so I can call upon it at any point. He also showed me how to do the same for you guys.”

  
But before she could continue, they saw an ugly creature, that looked like a failed art project, appear out of thin air. It began to suck the energy out of all the people in the area, crying “Feed us.” Then, it shot them with a familiar (at least to Mako) goo, that turned them all into Youma of various shapes and sizes. Seeing this, Mako and Mina began to transform.

  
“Jupiter Star Power!”

  
“Venus Star Power!”

  
The Chimera turned towards them. “Ah, now we can destroy two of the Sailors here and now.”, said one of the 3 voices. “Destroy them!”, another voice said.

  
The large army of Youma charged, but the 2 Sailors fought to disable them.

  
“Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!”

  
“Venus Love Me Chain, Encircle!”

  
But by the time they had incapacitated them all, the Chimera had gathered so much energy, it grew to giant size. “Now to kick this fight into high gear.”, the creature declared.

  
But before anyone could do anything, a woman with blue hair, wearing a mask and an outfit reminiscent of the Sailor Fuku leapt into the fray. “I’ll take it from here, girls.”, she said, firing a torrent of water at the creature. This caused it to explode into fragments, high scattered far and wide. Without something to hold them in that form, the Youma reverted to their human form.

  
“Who are you?”, Sailor Venus asked.

  
“That would be telling.”, the newcomer said, before jumping away. Confused as to what just happened, Venus and Sailor Jupiter walked away, unaware of a small green speck on Jupiter’s arm. They were also unaware of the white haired boy watching from nearby.

  
“So the enemy has made contact with the local Sailor Senshi. And what happened to other planets will soon happen to this one too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the Chimera idea was spur of the moment, in contrast to the previous chapters’ plot line. However, this has set up another major storyline for the next few chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I've had the idea to do for a while. I'm trying to create an abridged series for Bakugan, so I'd thought I'd test my aptitude for comedy. So I took an idea from Ashen Author on fanfiction.net. I also threw in a bit of material from other Japanese-based shows, like Yugi-Oh and Power Rangers. I hope this works out well.


End file.
